Daniel Defoe
A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) by Daniel Defoe is a semi-fictional account of the Great Plague of London in 1665, presented as the observations of a citizen who remains in the city.The book describes how the plague spreads, the fear and confusion it causes, and the measures taken by authorities-such as quarantines, shut houses, and burial practices. Defoe vividly portrays the suffering of individuals, the breakdown of social order, and the mixture of superstition, faith, and emerging medical reasoning people use to make sense of the disaster. Blending factual detail with narrative storytelling, the work offers both a historical record and a reflection on human behavior in times of crisis.