A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain

Britain In The Early Eighteenth Century: An Introduction That Is Both Informative And Imaginative, Reliable And Entertaining. To The Tradition Of Travel Writing Daniel Defoe Brings A Lifetime's Experience As A Businessman, Soldier, Economic Journalist And Spy, And His Tour (1724-6) Is An Invaluable Source Of Social And Economic History. But This Book Is Far More Than A Beautifully Written Guide To Britain Just Before The Industrial Revolution, For Defoe Possessed A Wild, Inventive Streak That Endows His Work With Astonishing Energy And Tension, And The Tour Is His Deeply Imaginative Response To A Brave New Economic World. By Employing His Skills As A Chronicler, A Polemicist And A Creative Writer Keenly Sensitive To The Depredations Of Time, Defoe More Than Achieves His Aim Of Rendering 'the Present State' Of Britain.