The Storm: or, a Collection of the Most Remarkable Casualties and Disasters which Happened in the Late...

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Daniel Defoe

The Storm

or, a Collection of the Most Remarkable Casualties and Disasters which Happened in the Late...

Daniel Defoe

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English

Spradabach Publishing
26 May 2025

British & Irish history; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700; Weather

In November 1703, a tempest of unparalleled ferocity descended upon the British Isles, etching its calamitous imprint upon both land and memory, with winds later estimated to have reached up to 140 mph (225 km/h), equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane in modern terms. The devastation swept through homes, churches, and naval vessels, with the loss of numerous ships and cargo, resulting in 8,000 deaths and material losses far surpassing the Great Storm of 1987. Over the past three hundred years, there has not been a storm in Britain approximating this magnitude. Defoe's narrative, written during one of the author's bleakest moments, having previously known bankruptcy and imprisonment for seditious writings, draws upon over sixty letters from individuals scattered across the storm-ravaged landscape, weaving their homely voices into a vivid tapestry of personal testimony and observation. From the anguished account of Elizabeth Luck in Tunbridge Wells, who beheld hundreds of trees felled and a church steeple sundered, to the harrowing tale of Thomas Powell in Deal, whose altruism amidst maritime despair led to the salvation of two hundred souls, Defoe encapsulates the storm's indiscriminate fury. Recognised at the time as a pioneering work of journalism and scientific reporting, The Storm remains both a historical artifact and a literary milestone, offering a disaster narrative as compelling today as it was when first published. The present edition makes this classic text available in a large, easy-to-read font, with ornamental drop caps, editorial footnotes, and a full index, making it both a tool and an adornment for the reader's personal library.

By: Daniel Defoe
Imprint: Spradabach Publishing
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 494g
ISBN: 9781909606579
ISBN 10: 190960657X
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 26 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Daniel Foe was born in London c. 1660, the son of James, a prosperous chandler and Presbyterian dissenter. He lived through the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666, which left only his and two other houses standing in the area. As a general merchant, he was able to buy a country estate and a ship, though he was nearly always in debt. He joined the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, but was pardoned. However, he spent a spell in debtor's prison, after which he travelled Europe and Scotland, returning in 1695, when, now surnamed Defoe, he began serving as a Commissioner of the Glass Duty and, in 1696, running a brick and tile factory. He became a prolific pamphleteer, which led him to the pillory and Newgate Prison. In exchange for his liberty, he agreed to work as an intelligence agent for the Tories, then as a propagandist for the Whigs, and then as a mouthpiece for the Anglo-Scottish Union. His novels and non-fiction books occupied him from the mid 1710s until his death in 1731.