An Essay Upon Projects (1697) was the first volume published by Daniel Defoe. It begins with an introduction containing a portrait of his time as a "Projecting Age",Defoe, p. 1. and subsequently illustrates plans for the economic and social improvement of England, including an early proposal for a national insurance scheme.
Publication The text was written in 1693 and published in 1697. The title page states that it was "[p]rinted by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey. MDCXCVII." There is no known manuscript of the work. The essay was reprinted several times and reached a wide audience. The book was dedicated to Dalby Thomas.
Subsequent publications on the same theme Many of its issues were later revised in a series of pamphlets which were published under the nom-de-plume of Andrew Moreton. They are titled Every-body's Business, Is No-body's Business (1725), The Protestant Monastery (1726), Parochial Tyranny (1727), Augusta Triumphans (1728) and Second Thoughts are Best (1729). Compared to these works, however, An Essay Upon Projects is more focused on moral criticism than being project-oriented.
A list of the chapters Author's Preface – to Dalby Thomas, Esq. Author's Introduction The History of Projects Of Projectors Of Banks Of the Highways Of Assurances Of Friendly Societies The Proposal is for a Pension Office Of Wagering Of Fools Of Bankrupts Of Academies Of a Court Merchant Of Seamen The Conclusion
References
Bibliography Backscheider, P B, Daniel Defoe.His Life, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1989. “Social Projects”, Daniel Defoe. The Collection of the Lily Library, Indiana University Bloomington, 2008, retrieved 25 October 2015, <http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/defoe/projects.html> George, M D, London Life in the Eighteenth Century, Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1979.
Novak, M E, “Last Productive Years”, Daniel Defoe Master of Fictions. His Life and Ideas, Oxford University Press, United States of America, 2001.
External links Daniel Defoe – The Collection of the Lily Library An Essay Upon Projects by Daniel Defoe at the Internet Archive An Essay Upon Projects by Daniel Defoe at Google Books An Essay Upon Projects by Daniel Defoe in the Gutenberg Project