The Political History of the Devil

1726 book by Daniel Defoe

"The History of the Devil" redirects here. For the 1996 book, see A History of the Devil.

The Political History of the Devil is a 1726 book by Daniel Defoe.[1]

General scholarly opinion is that Defoe really did think of the Devil as a participant in world history. He spends some time discussing John Milton's Paradise Lost and explaining why he considers it inaccurate.

His view is that of an 18th-century Presbyterian – he blames the Devil for the Crusades and sees him as close to Europe's Catholic powers. This expresses Defoe's anti-Catholicism. The book was banned by the Roman Catholic Church.[2]

## Trivia

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The book is listed as one belonging to Mr. Tulliver and read by his daughter Maggie in George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss.[3]

## See also

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* De Betoverde Weereld

## References

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1. ^ McInelly, Brett (Autumn 2006). The Political History of the Devil. Textual Cultures, 1(2): 175–177.(subscription required)
2. ^ "BFE – Censored publications – Search result". Archived from the original on 13 July 2016.
3. ^ The Mill on the Floss: Book one chapter 3; Mr Riley Gives his Advice

## Further reading

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* Baine, Rodney M. (1962). Daniel Defoe and "The History and Reality of Apparitions". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 106(4): 335–347. (subscription required)
* Hudson, Nicholas (1988). 'Why God no Kill the Devil?' The Diabolical Disruption of Order in Robinson Crusoe. The Review of English Studies, 39(156): 494–501. (subscription required)

## External links

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* Online at Archive.org
* The History of the Devil public domain audiobook at LibriVox
* Literary Encyclopedia entry

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Works by Daniel Defoe

Novels|

* Robinson Crusoe (1719)
* The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719)
* Captain Singleton (1720)
* Memoirs of a Cavalier (1720)
* Moll Flanders (1722)
* Colonel Jack (1722)
* A Journal of the Plague Year (1722)
* Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724)

Other fiction|

* The Consolidator or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon (1705)
* The Apparition of Mrs. Veal (1706)
* Atlantis Major (1711)
* The King of Pirates (1719)
* The Pirate Gow, an account of John Gow

Non-fiction|

* An Essay Upon Projects
* The Storm (1704)
* The Family Instructor (1715)
* Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe (1720)
* A General History of the Pyrates (1724, disputed)
* A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain (1724-27)
* The Complete English Tradesman
* The Political History of the Devil (1726)
* Mere Nature Delineated (1726)
* Conjugal Lewdness (1727)
* A Plan of the English Commerce (1728)

Essays|

* The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (1702)
* Castration of Popish Ecclesiastics (1720, attributed)
* An Essay Upon Literature (1726)
* Conjugal Lewdness (1727)
* Augusta Triumphans (1728)
* Second Thoughts Are Best (1729)

Poems|

* The True-Born Englishman (1701)
* Hymn to the Pillory (1703)

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