A Reader's Guide to Authors Like Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe stands as a monumental figure in English literature, often credited as one of the pioneers of the realistic novel. His works, particularly Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders, are celebrated for their detailed, journalistic prose, their focus on the struggles and ingenuity of the individual, and their insightful social commentary.
If you appreciate Defoe's contributions, you might be looking for similar authors. This guide is structured to help you explore writers connected to Defoe in three distinct ways: his direct contemporaries who helped forge the novel, the literary pioneers who set the stage for him, and the later thematic heirs who carried the torch of adventure and survival.
The Founders' Circle: Defoe's Contemporaries
These authors wrote during the same period as Defoe in the early 18th century. Together, they explored the new literary form of the novel, each contributing a unique style and perspective.
1. Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)
While Defoe focused on the external, practical realities of his characters, Samuel Richardson turned inward to pioneer the psychological novel. If you appreciate the realism of Defoe's first-person narrators, you will find a different, more emotional kind of realism in Richardson's work.
Key Work: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740). Written in an epistolary style (as a series of letters), the novel gives readers an intensely intimate look into the mind of a young maidservant, Pamela Andrews, as she defends her virtue against her master's advances. It trades Defoe's physical survival for a deep dive into moral and psychological endurance.
2. Henry Fielding (1707–1754)
Henry Fielding offered a direct, often satirical, response to what he saw as the moralizing sentimentality of Richardson. If Defoe's novels show a single individual's journey, Fielding paints a vast, panoramic canvas of English society with a comic and picaresque flair. He famously parodied Richardson's Pamela with his novella Shamela.
Key Work: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749). This sprawling, humorous novel follows the good-hearted but flawed hero Tom on a series of misadventures across the English countryside. Fielding’s intrusive, witty narrator and complex plot stand in contrast to Defoe’s straightforward style, but both authors share a keen eye for social hypocrisy and human nature.
3. Tobias Smollett (1721–1771)
Tobias Smollett combines the adventurous, episodic structure found in Defoe with the satirical, societal critique of Fielding. His novels are often coarse, energetic, and filled with brutally realistic details, particularly of life in the British Navy. He perfected the picaresque novel, following a roguish protagonist through a corrupt world.
Key Work: The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748). This novel is a whirlwind tour of 18th-century life, from the Scottish gentry to the brutal conditions of a naval warship. Like Defoe's characters, Roderick must rely on his wits to survive a hostile world, making for a gritty and compelling read.
Literary Pioneers: Setting the Stage for the Novel
These writers were active before or during Defoe's early career, and their work in prose fiction created the literary environment from which the novel could emerge.
4. Aphra Behn (1640–1689)
One of the first professional female writers in English, Aphra Behn was a trailblazer. Her work explored themes of colonialism, race, and sexuality with a frankness that was decades ahead of its time. She provided a model for using prose fiction to engage with pressing political and social issues.
Key Work: Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave (1688). This short novel tells the tragic story of an African prince enslaved and brought to the colony of Surinam. Its blend of romance, adventure, and powerful anti-colonial critique prefigures the "realism" and social awareness that would become hallmarks of Defoe's writing.
5. John Bunyan (1628–1688)
John Bunyan’s powerful Christian allegory was a foundational text of English prose. While not a novel in the modern sense, its straightforward style and focus on an ordinary man's journey through a world of trials deeply influenced Defoe. Both writers excelled at making abstract spiritual and moral struggles feel tangible and real.
Key Work: The Pilgrim's Progress (1678). Following the journey of a protagonist named Christian from the "City of Destruction" to the "Celestial City," this book uses plain language to create an unforgettable narrative of faith and perseverance. Its focus on a single protagonist's path mirrors the structure of Robinson Crusoe.
Heirs to the Adventure: 19th-Century Successors
A century after Defoe, these authors revived and expanded upon the themes of adventure, survival, and exploration that he had popularized, particularly in Robinson Crusoe. While their literary style belongs to a different era, their spirit is directly descended from Defoe.
6. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)
Stevenson was a master of the adventure story, crafting tales of high-stakes journeys, moral ambiguity, and unforgettable characters. His work captures the same thrill of the unknown and the fight for survival that made Robinson Crusoe a classic.
Key Work: Treasure Island (1883). The quintessential pirate adventure, this novel’s tale of treasure maps, mutiny, and the morally complex Long John Silver is a direct literary descendant of the high-seas adventures that Defoe's audience loved.
7. Jules Verne (1828–1905)
Jules Verne took Defoe's castaway theme and infused it with a 19th-century passion for science, engineering, and human ingenuity. His stories celebrate resourcefulness and the methodical application of knowledge to overcome nature—a core element of Crusoe's narrative.
Key Work: The Mysterious Island (1875). This is perhaps the most direct homage to Robinson Crusoe ever written. It follows five American castaways who use their scientific knowledge to build a thriving colony from scratch on an uncharted island, embodying the spirit of invention and discovery at the heart of Defoe's classic.
Conclusion: Defoe's Enduring Legacy
Daniel Defoe did more than just write adventure stories; he helped invent a new way of seeing the world through the eyes of an ordinary, relatable individual. Whether you are drawn to the psychological depth of his contemporaries like Richardson, the satirical sweep of Fielding, or the adventurous spirit echoed by Stevenson and Verne, the threads of Defoe's influence are woven deeply into the history of the novel.
By exploring these authors, you not only find stories you will enjoy but also gain a richer appreciation for the groundbreaking—and enduring—power of Defoe's work.