Introduction

Summary

The Introduction explains the aims of the book, which seeks to provide a broad survey of the Tour, with a recurrent focus on the way it depicts an emerging nation. Defoe’s intentions are explored along various channels: among them, those of form, rhetorical devices, political and social ideology, historiographic legacy, sources, geographic and topographic content, treatment of the communications network, and folklore. Some recurring themes are outlined as they emerge in subsequent chapters, such as relics of the Civil War, the rise to social prominence of the mercantile community, the aftermath of the South Sea Bubble, and the fortunes of the woollen industry. Topics mentioned in this context include the place of the Tour in relation to Defoe’s social and economic tracts of the 1720s, and the way that his varied life-history provided a basis for his enquiry into the state of the nation. New light is thrown on aspects of the work that have been ignored or neglected in previous studies. Each chapter aims to explore a facet of early modern Britain as it surfaces within Defoe’s widely allusive text. The layout of the chapters is summarised.