Daniel Defoe Non-Fiction books in order

Daniel Defoe's non-fiction works cover trade, travel, piracy, crime, and the supernatural, written across the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 The Complete English Tradesman - Daniel Defoe Buy
2 The Master Mercury - Daniel Defoe Buy
3 The Family Instructor - Daniel Defoe Buy
4 A General History of the Pyrates - Daniel Defoe Buy
5 A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain - Daniel Defoe Buy
6 The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard - Daniel Defoe Buy
7 A Plan of the English Commerce - Daniel Defoe Buy
8 The Political History of the Devil - Daniel Defoe Buy
9 The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr. Duncan Campell 1904 Daniel Defoe Buy
10 Tour through Eastern Counties of England, 1722 1997 Daniel Defoe Buy
11 Chronicles and Characters of the Stock Exchange 2008 Daniel Defoe Buy
12 A Tour Through England and Wales - Volume I. 2008 Daniel Defoe Buy
13 Mother Ross 2011 Daniel Defoe Buy
14 A Treatise Concerning the Use and Abuse of the Marriage Bed 2017 Daniel Defoe Buy
15 Religious Courtship 2018 Daniel Defoe Buy
16 An Ecclesiastical History of Scotland 2019 Daniel Defoe Buy
17 The Storm 2019 Daniel Defoe Buy

Defoe’s non-fiction is as varied as his fiction. A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain is a detailed travel guide to early Georgian England and Scotland that historians still cite today. His writing on trade and commerce reflected his own experience as a merchant who went bankrupt more than once.

He also wrote about crime, the supernatural, and domestic life. The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard tells the story of a famous escaped prisoner, while The Political History of the Devil is exactly what it sounds like. These books show a writer who could turn almost any subject into readable, lively prose.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Daniel Defoe Non-Fiction series?

There are seventeen books in the Daniel Defoe Non-Fiction series, published between 1904 and 2019.

What is the first book in the Daniel Defoe Non-Fiction series?

The first book in the Daniel Defoe Non-Fiction series is The Complete English Tradesman.

Did Daniel Defoe really write A General History of the Pyrates?

The book was published in 1724 under the name Captain Charles Johnson, and scholars have long debated whether Defoe was the real author. The evidence is mixed, but many researchers now lean toward a different author. Regardless, it remains the single most important source on Golden Age piracy.

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