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'a Casement Violently Opened Just Over My Head, And A Woman Gave Three Frightful Skreetches, And Then Cry'd, Oh! Death, Death, Death!' Purporting To Be An Eye-witness Account, The Journal Of The Plague Year Is A Record Of The Devastation Wrought By The Great Plague Of 1665 On The City Of London. Defoe's Fictional Narrator, Known Only As 'h. F.', Recounts In Vivid Detail The Progress Of The Disease And The Desperate Attempts To Contain It. He Catalogues The Rising Death Toll And The Transformation Of The City As Its Citizens Flee And Those Who Remain Live In Fear And Despair. Above All It Is The Stories Of Appalling Human Suffering And Grief That Give Defoe's Extraordinary Fiction Its Compelling Historical Veracity. This Revised Edition Includes Comprehensive Notes, A Complete Topographical Index, And A New Introduction To The Greatest Work Of Plague Literature. About The Series: For Over 100 Years Oxford World's Classics Has Made Available The Widest Range Of Literature From Around The Globe. Each Affordable Volume Reflects Oxford's Commitment To Scholarship, Providing The Most Accurate Text Plus A Wealth Of Other Valuable Features, Including Expert Introductions By Leading Authorities, Helpful Notes To Clarify The Text, Up-to-date Bibliographies For Further Study, And Much More.
The arrival of the bubonic plague in 1665 London forces a citizen to confront the total collapse of social order and the omnipresence of mortality. The narrator, known as H.F., documents his observations as the city descends into chaos, quarantine, and mass burial. He navigates the physical constraints of a locked-down metropolis, balancing his desire for self-preservation with a morbid curiosity regarding the spread of the contagion. The narrative framework utilizes a pseudo-journalistic style, presenting the events as a firsthand account of the social and administrative responses to the epidemic.
Readers and critics frequently note the clinical, almost documentary-like precision that Defoe employs to ground his narrative in historical reality. Discussion often centers on the effectiveness of the narrator’s detached tone, which contrasts sharply with the visceral horror of the events described. Many highlight the book's ability to capture the atmosphere of a city under siege, emphasizing how the author balances individual anecdotes with broader societal observations. The work is widely regarded for its influence on the development of the realistic novel, as it successfully blurs the line between historical record and creative prose.
Page Count:
344
Publication Date:
2010-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191612863
ISBN-13:
9780191612862