An Essay upon Projects - Couverture rigide

Defoe, Daniel

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 040463530X ISBN 13 : 9780404635305

Editeur : AMS Press, 1999

Synopsis

The ""Essay upon Projects"" was written during the years immediately following two of Defoe's serious brushed with the law. In 1692, #17,000 in debt, he was declared bankrupt. After a brief imprisonment and during the time he subsequently spent hiding from authorities and creditors, he began work on various ""projects"" which he thought would make England a better nation and, were they approved and acted upon by the government, bring him fame and fortune. Composed piecemeal, the ""Essay"" offers a wide ranging series of proposals for radical social reform, while attempting to gain some dignity for what Defoe called, in another context, the despicable art of projecting. Among Defoe's schemes, predictable enough, was a project for the reform of his nation's bankruptcy laws, a project over which Defoe, in his own words, ""waxed hot"". Five years after he began it, Defoe published the work. By 1697, he had righted himself publicly and financially, having served as Accomptant to the Commissioners of the Glass Duty in King William's government and having profited from his brick and tile factory in Tilbury. The work represents new beginnings for Defoe as a political and literary figure, new assertions of principles, new ventures on public terrain. At its most utopian, it was an effort at charting a new future for England - a combination of social engineering and economic scheming. It is a commonplace to say of science fiction that while purporting to be about other worlds and often about future time, it is invariable about our present life on earth. Similarly, it may be said of ""An Essay upon Projects"" that although Defoe's work treated future projects and possibilities, they were very much rooted in the events of the recent past and the present. Read against the swarm of proposals published during the 1690s (usually in pamphlet form), the text seems thoroughly rooted in the efforts at attempting to solve the economic problems of the late-17th century. On the other hand, Defoe enjoyed assuming the role of a prophet, and if some of his schemes seemed to foreshadow his future developments, whether in his time or ours, he would hardly have been reluctant to take credit for his ingenuity and farsightedness.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Webster's edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are ¿difficult, and often encountered¿ in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language, and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word's meaning within context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the book; synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster's Online Dictionary.

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Présentation de l'éditeur

An Essay Upon Projects contains a series of ideas and opinions which Daniel Defoe published in an attempt to encourage social reform in England during the late 17th century.

The essay is lengthy and wide in scope; Defoe proposes a series of reforms and developments to financial institutions, England's roadways, and the need for a pension given to professional civil servants and sailors of the Crown. Perhaps most famously, Defoe advances the idea of a higher educational institution for women, modeled after the French academies of the era, while at the same time mounting a spirited defense of the female character; these arguments were almost unheard of in the late 17th century.

During and after his life, Defoe was primarily famed for his works of fiction. His story Robinson Crusoe remains a world famous landmark of English literature. His books were quite synonymous with the adventurous, commercial spirit which defined England at the time, and to a great extent Defoe's own life as an ambitious trader and traveled merchant. Although he held minor roles in the British government, Defoe was far more vested in mercantile pursuits rather than politics or social reform.

This edition of An Essay Upon Projects contains a complete biographical introduction by Henry Morley, together with four illustrations of prominent figures instrumental to Defoe's life. The essay is written in Defoe's easily recognized and digestible style, and offers superb insight into the society of his era.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: AMS Press
• Date d'édition: 1999
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 040463530X
• ISBN 13: 9780404635305
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 244
• Éditeur: Kennedy Joyce D., Etc., Seidel Michael, Novak Maximillian E.
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible