Daniel Defoe is best known as the author of ‘Robinson Crusoe, ‘ published in 1719. However between 1724 and 1726 he published the three volume work, ‘A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain.’ This is a superb and detailed account of what Great Britain was like on the eve of the industrial and agricultural revolutions, written in a matter-of-fact style that comes over as surprisingly modern.
The three volumes are written in the form of 13 ‘letters, ‘ each describing a tour undertaken by Defoe.