Defoe, Daniel “A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain” 1971 (rep 1986) Pbk. 730pp, RRP: £14.99

Pat Rogers introduction serves as an adequate way into the text but really needs to be replaced by something that could make use of more recent scholarship on the subject. Also the map is perfunctory

The book is divided into 13 tours, written as “letters”, a compilation of his observations from a lifetime of travelling around the country, together with some borrowings from earlier authors.

The main focus of the book, apart from the obvious topographical material, relates to trade, agriculture and industry. Defoe informs the reader exactly what sort of manufactures and the items traded were in the various towns and cities he passed through. Defoe is also keen to describe the chief agricultural products of the countryside.

Ports have a special fascination for Defoe and he provides valuable information regarding where the numerous ports were trading to and what the imports and exports were. And he always mentions any noteworthy bridges.

Outside of the urban areas Defoe's description of the countryside can be divided into two main parts: those which were productive and those which were not. One gets the impression he would have been much happier if the rugged parts of the country had all been flattened out and made into productive farmland.

The text is riddled with snobbery. The only people who matter socially, are people “of quality”, preferably both well-educated and rich. So towns are rated as much on the presence of agreeable company as the amount of trade they engage in.

The Penguin edition is looking tired. The cover looks recent but the text and the paper look grey and uninteresting but if you want a look at the state of Britain in the years just prior to the Industrial revolution when the country was dominated by a landed aristocracy and mercantile elite, then I can recommend having a read of this.

Richard Alexander

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