An Essay Upon Projects Explained
| Author: | Daniel Defoe |
| Country: | London, England |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | Printed by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey |
| Pub Date: | 1697 |
| Media Type: | Print |
| Pages: | xiv; 336 |
| Oclc: | 6978589 |
An Essay Upon Projects (1697)[1] was the first volume published by Daniel Defoe.[2] It begins with an introduction containing a portrait of his time as a "Projecting Age",[3] and subsequently illustrates plans for the economic and social improvement of England,[4] including an early proposal for a national insurance scheme.
Publication
The text was written in 1693 and published in 1697. The title page states that it was "[p]rinted by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey. MDCXCVII." There is no known manuscript of the work. The essay was reprinted several times and reached a wide audience.[5] The book was dedicated to Dalby Thomas.
Subsequent publications on the same theme
Many of its issues were later revised in a series of pamphlets which were published under the nom-de-plume of Andrew Moreton.[2] They are titled Every-body's Business, Is No-body's Business (1725), The Protestant Monastery (1726), Parochial Tyranny (1727), Augusta Triumphans (1728) and Second Thoughts are Best (1729).[2] Compared to these works, however, An Essay Upon Projects is more focused on moral criticism than being project-oriented.[6]
A list of the chapters
- Author's Preface – to Dalby Thomas, Esq.
- Author's Introduction
- The History of Projects
- Of Projectors
- Of Banks
- Of the Highways
- Of Assurances
- Of Friendly Societies
- The Proposal is for a Pension Office
- Of Wagering
- Of Fools
- Of Bankrupts
- Of Academies
- Of a Court Merchant
- Of Seamen
- The Conclusion
Bibliography
- Backscheider, P B, Daniel Defoe.His Life, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1989.
- “Social Projects”, Daniel Defoe. The Collection of the Lily Library, Indiana University Bloomington, 2008, retrieved 25 October 2015,
- George, M D, London Life in the Eighteenth Century, Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1979.
- Maldonado. Tomás. Defoe and the 'Projecting Age'. Design Issues. 2002. 18. 1. 78–85. 10.1162/07479360252756313. 1512032. 57567525.
- Moore. John Robert. Defoe's Persona as Author: The Quaker's Sermon. SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900. 1971. 11. 3. 507–516. 10.2307/449910. 449910.
- Novak, M E, “Last Productive Years”, Daniel Defoe Master of Fictions. His Life and Ideas, Oxford University Press, United States of America, 2001.
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Daniel Defoe. An Essay Upon Projects. London. Printed by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey. 1697. 6978589.
- Book: P. B., Backscheider. 1989. Daniel Defoe.His Life. Baltimore and London. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 517.
- Defoe, p. 1.
- Web site: Social Projects. . 2008. Indiana.edu. Indiana University Bloomington. 10 September 2015.
- Book: Zekonyte. Kristina. Projectors in seventeenth-century England and their relevance to the field of project management — The University of Brighton. 2018. University of Brighton. Brighton.
- Book: M E, Novak. Daniel Defoe. Master of Fictions. Oxford University Press. United States of America. 2001. 680.
