''An Essay Upon Projects'' (1697) was the first volume published by
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
.
It begins with a portrait of his time as a "Projecting Age" and subsequently illustrates plans for the economic and social improvement of England, including an early proposal for a national insurance scheme.
Publication
The text was written in 1693 and published in 1697. The frontispiece state "printed by R. R. for Tho. Cockerill, at the Corner of Warwick-Lane, near Paternoster – Row. MDCXCVII". There is no known manuscript of the work. The essay was reprinted several times and reached a wide audience.
The book was dedicated to
Dalby Thomas
Subsequent publications on the same theme
Many of its issues were later revised in a series of pamphlets which were published under the nom-de-plume of
Andrew Moreton
Andrew Moreton is a pseudonym used by Daniel Defoe in several pamphlets published between 1725 and 1729, proposing some new reflections on themes already discussed in Defoe's 1697 '' An essay upon projects''. Moreton is presented as a crotchety mid ...
.
[ They are titled '']Every-body's Business, Is No-body's Business
Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business: Or, Private Abuses, Public Grievances Exemplified is a 1725 pamphlet by Daniel Defoe. It deals with the "exorbitant Wages of our Women, Servants, Footmen". Similarly to ''The Protestant Monastery
''The P ...
'' (1725), ''The Protestant Monastery
''The Protestant Monastery: or, a Complaint against the Brutality of the Present Age'' is a 1726 pamphlet by Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He ...
'' (1726), ''Parochial Tyranny
''Parochial Tyranny: Or, the House-Keeper's Complaint Against the Insupportable Exactions, and Partial Assessments of Select Vestries, &C'' is a 1727 pamphlet by Daniel Defoe. It deals with the corruption of parishes. Similarly to ''Every-body's B ...
'' (1727), ''Augusta Triumphans
''Augusta Triumphans: or, the Way to Make London the Most Flourishing City in the Universe'' by Daniel Defoe was first published on 16 March 1728. The fictitious speaker of this pamphlet, Andrew Moreton, is a man in his sixties who offers sugges ...
'' (1728) and '' Second Thoughts are Best'' (1729).[ Compared to these works, however, ''An Essay Upon Projects'' is more focused on moral criticism than being project-oriented.]
A list of the chapters
*Author's Preface - to Dalby Thomas, Esq.
*Author's Introduction
*The History of Projects
*Of Projectors
*Of Banks
*Of the Highways
*Of Assurances
*Of Friendly Societies
*The Proposal is for a Pension Office
*Of Wagering
*Of Fools
*Of Bankrupts
*Of Academies
*Of a Court Merchant
*Of Seamen
*The Conclusion
References
Bibliography
* Backscheider, P B, ''Daniel Defoe.His Life'', The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1989.
* “Social Projects”, Daniel Defoe. The Collection of the Lily Library, Indiana University Bloomington, 2008, retrieved 25 October 2015,
* George, M D, ''London Life in the Eighteenth Century'', Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1979.
*
*
* Novak, M E, “Last Productive Years”,''Daniel Defoe Master of Fictions. His Life and Ideas'', Oxford University Press'', United States of America, 2001.''
External links
Daniel Defoe. The Collection of the Lily Library
''An Essay Upon Projects'' by Daniel Defoe in the Gutenberg Project
Pamphlets
Works by Daniel Defoe
1697 books
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