A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe - Why Teens Should Read This

A fictionalized account of the London plague of 1665-1666. (Cf. Samuel Pepys Journals). Purportedly being observations or memorials of the most remarkable occurrences, as well public as private, which happened in London during the last great visitation in 1665. Written by a Citizen who continued all the while in London. Never made public before. According to Wikipedia: Daniel Defoe (1659/1661 [?] — 1731), born Daniel Foe, was an English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest practitioners of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain, and is even referred to by some as one of the founders of the English novel. A prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural). He was also a pioneer of economic journalism.

Why Teens Should Read This
1.Defoe is fascinating biography subject:
Ian Watt remarked that Defoe "was a hard man who led a hard life: raised as a Dissenter in the London of the Great Plague and Great Fire; enduring Newgate prison and the pillory in bankrupt middle age; working as a secret agent and a scandalous journalist until imprisoned again for debt and treason. Defoe died old, and so may be accounted as a survivor, but he had endured a good share of reality, and his novels reflect that endurance."

2. Observing and personalizing "real world" problems can inspire you to read and enjoy related literature. Thank G-d the H1N1 Flu causes mild to moderate symptoms despite its fierce contagiousness. However, I'm sure most of your mothers and others have made anxiety ridden phone calls to the pediatrician. We live in a Global Village. How long is it before one rural Chinese farmer falls ill and China Air cancels flights out of Beijing. Even the Plague, today having a mere 15% mortality rate down from the Medieval high of 75% can still wreak havoc. And it is a fact that the recent completion of the Kinshasa Highway enabled the transmission of AIDS epidemic throughout Africa. Is it so far-fetched?Someone collapses in Cape Town, schools close across Europe, ports are inspected along the Atlantic shore, riots break out surrounding Kaiser-Permanente, Japanese civilians receive face masks from their government... DeFoe's London is a microcosm of our world.

3. In order for you to like reading, you have to be exposed to a variety of genres to help discover your own interests. The Journal of the Plague Year is a great introduction to Historical Fiction, or even Literary Journalism-- even if it was written so early that the genre would not yet be coined for a few hundred years. After all, Defoe is credited with being one of the earliest innovators of the novel itself. I personally love the genre, it makes me fell like I'm time traveling, sans jet lag. Historical fiction by the way, is also popular genre for mini-series, HBO is particularly good for shows like Deadwood, Rome, John Adams, and The Tudors.

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