A First Step Toward the Novel

“Daniel Defoe, a working class Puritan, was something of an early gonzo-journalist. Hearing about a man who had just been rescued from a desert island, Defoe decided to make up an account that might appeal to the tabloid readers of his day. The result was Robinson Crusoe (1719). This tale, one of the best adventure stories in literature, was taken as a fact by most of Defoe’s readers. This was because, strictly speaking, realistic fiction had not been invented yet” (Gene Edward Veith, Reading Between the Lines, p. 174).