A Journal of the Plague Year

A Journal of the Plague Year is a book by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. Set during the Great Plague of London in 1665, the book presents itself as a first-hand eyewitness account of a city overwhelmed by disease, fear, and social collapse. Written in the voice of an anonymous narrator known as H. F., the work blends careful observation with narrative storytelling to recreate daily life as the plague spreads through London’s streets, homes, and institutions. The journal follows the progression of the outbreak from its earliest rumours to its devastating peak, describing mass burials, quarantine measures, shut-up houses, and the desperate attempts of citizens to flee the city. Defoe pays close attention to public behaviour, government responses, religious reactions, and the moral dilemmas faced by individuals when survival conflicts with duty. Through vivid scenes and reported anecdotes, the book captures the psychological toll of living under constant threat, where trust erodes and superstition flourishes alongside genuine acts of courage and charity. Although Defoe was a child during the actual plague, he drew extensively on historical records, bills of mortality, eyewitness testimony, and oral tradition, creating a work that feels uncannily authentic. The result is a narrative that reads like reportage while maintaining the dramatic pacing of a novel. Long regarded as one of the most powerful depictions of epidemic life in English literature, the book remains strikingly relevant for readers interested in plague history, early modern London, and the social consequences of public health crises.