First published in 1722, A Journal of the Plague Year is a fictional account of a man's experiences during the last epidemic of bubonic plague in London in 1665, written by Daniel Defoe-an English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. The novel was, written sixty years after the plague swept through London; Defoe brings the city to life in all of its hardship and fear. It seems almost a firsthand account, taking readers through the neighborhoods, houses, and streets that have drastically changed with the rising death toll. As the epidemic progresses and the narrator encounters more stories of isolation and horror, Defoe reveals his masterful balance as both, a historical and imaginative writer.