Defoe's £17,000 bankruptcy

Furbank, P. N. and Owens, W. R. (2002). Defoe's £17,000 bankruptcy. Notes and Queries, 247(3) pp. 363–364.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/49.3.363-a

Abstract

This article points out that the only evidence for the much-repeated story that Defoe went bankrupt for the (then enormous) sum of £17,000 comes from himself. It argues that the figure was most probably a wild exaggeration, and puts forward a possible motive for this.

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