Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe se narodil kolem roku 1660 v Londýně jako syn Jamese Foa, svíčkaře a řezníka. Daniel Defoe (born 1660, London, Eng.—died April 24, 1731, London) was an English novelist, pamphleteer, and journalist, který se stal jedním z nejvýznamnějších anglických spisovatelů a průkopníků moderního románu. Literární dílo a filmové adaptace He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations. Robinson Crusoe se stal základem pro četné filmové adaptace. Mezi nejznámější patří Robinson Crusoe (1954): Also known as The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; film, 89 minutes; director Louis Buñuel s Danem O'Herlihym v hlavní roli. Daniel O'Herlihy was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category. Další významnou adaptací je Robinson Crusoe z roku 1997 s Piercem Brosnanem, Robinson Crusoe is a 1997 American adventure survival drama film directed by Rod Hardy and George T. Miller, and starring Pierce Brosnan in the title role. Defoeův druhý nejslavnější román Moll Flanders z roku 1722 se také dočkal několika filmových zpracování. A 1965 film adaptation titled The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders starred Kim Novak as Moll Flanders and Richard Johnson as Jemmy. Významnou televizní adaptací je The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders is a 1996 British drama television film directed by David Attwood, with a screenplay by Andrew Davies and starring Alex Kingston. Americká filmová verze z roku 1996 starred Robin Wright, Morgan Freeman, and Stockard Channing. Kariéra a další díla Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works—books, pamphlets, and journals—on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural. Kromě Robinson Crusoe a Moll Flanders napsal další významné romány včetně Captain Singleton (1720), Moll Flanders (1722), A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) and Roxana (1724). A Journal of the Plague Year, published in 1722, can be read both as novel and as nonfiction. It is an account of the Great Plague of London in 1665. Obchodní a politická činnost Defoe byl nejen spisovatelem, ale také obchodníkem a tajným agentem. Defoe entered the world of business as a general merchant, dealing at different times in hosiery, general woollen goods, and wine. His ambitions were great and he was able to buy a country estate and a ship. In 1692, he was arrested for debts of £700 and, in the face of total debts that may have amounted to £17,000, was forced to declare bankruptcy. Queen Mary and her husband William III were jointly crowned in 1689, and Defoe became one of William's close allies and a secret agent. Literární význam He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain. Defoe's influence on the evolution of the English novel was enormous, and many regard him as the first true novelist. He was a master of plain prose and powerful narrative. Daniel Defoe zemřel 24. dubna 1731 v Londýně, zanechav po sobě literární odkaz, který ovlivnil vývoj anglické prózy a inspiroval generace filmařů k adaptacím jeho nesmrtelných příběhů.