A resource you can try! Ancestry.com

Copyright©, all rights
reserved , Interactive Communications, 1998, 1999,2000-2007

Daniel Defoe - A Journal Of The Plague Year

being observations or memorials of the most remarkable occurrences, as well public as private, which happened in London during the last great visitation in 1665. Written by a Citizen who continued all the while in London. Never made public before 

BOECKLIN, Arnold The Plague1898 Tempera on wood

Background:
(Bubonic Plague, Black Death, Black Plague)
The fictional account by Daniel Defoe, A Journal Of The Plague Year , 1722,  is real enough to bring new meaning to the expression, "Don't let the bugs bite."

Though we now know that bubonic plague (invades the lymph nodes and In pneumonic invades the lungs) is caused most frequently from the bite of a rat flea, occasionally through contact with infectious tissues or exudates, and rarely through respiratory droplets, this was unknown at the time.  It is worth noting that the plague still exists in parts of the world, including the Western United States where it is considered endemic in western rodents, including ground squirrels.  In 1997 a "resistant" strain was discussed in the  New England Journal Of Medicine (Multidrug Resistance in Plague) Volume 337 No. 10, Dennis & Hughes).

About Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) most famous, perhaps for his work Robinson Crusoe was the third child and the first son of of James and Mary Defoe(spelled variously). His father was a fairly well-to-do merchant of Flemish descent and was apparently a dissenter, that is, Presbyterian.  Defoe, Soon after 1684 married Mary Tuffley, the daughter of a well-to-do dissenting merchant. She came with a substantial dowry that Defoe  lost in a calamitous series of business failures and bad judgment. A colorful personality, Defoe's life was an adventure in living on the edge.   Though little is known of Mary, his wife, it would appear that she was loyal to the extreme. She bore Defoe eight children,  six of whom lived to maturity.  When Defoe died the couple had been married for 47 years.

Journal Of The Plague Year (1722)
Defoe was born five years before the Great Plague of London.  and in this fictional, but fascinating account of the plague he was no doubt drawing upon near experience and first hand knowledge.  The primary character, a saddler, elects to remain in London during the Great Plague, though most of his status fled to their country estates.   Through these imaginary eyes we feel this terrible disease, the extraordinary loss of life, the hysteria that accompanied it, the utter helplessness to combat it, and much more.  We have excerpted liberally as the document is quite long for a presentation such as this.  It is hoped, however that we captured the spirit of it. The captions are ours, and some portions are set out as documents unto themselves for easier browsing. Our appreciation to the Project Gutenberg team, who distributed the original electronic text in its entirety.