Defoe and King William: a sceptical enquiry

Furbank, P. N. and Owens, W. R. (2001). Defoe and King William: a sceptical enquiry. Review of English Studies, 52(206) pp. 227–232.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/res/52.206.227

Abstract

A favourite theme of Defoe's was his friendship with William III, but his accounts of this are riddled with contradictions. This article argues that it is possible that the entire story was made up by Defoe, and that he may have got the idea of inventing a role for himself as unofficial adviser to the king by his knowledge of some remarkable letters of advice to King William from William Paterson, which remained in the possession of the Defoe family until 1955.

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