A Journal of the Plague Year

Hair raising read

(5 stars)

Maria

It's hard to pinpoint what this work is - the consensus is this is a work of historical fiction, though I read sonewhere that it was speculated that Defoe may have based it off a diary left behind by a relative, since Defoe was too young to have actually made record of the plague year. None the less, the account is riveting and in some respects, profoundly moving and gut wrenching as Defoe details the human costs of the plague. in particular, it was hard to listen to the account of a man who watches his wife and children succumb to the plague and be buried in a pit, to truly grasp the devastation. we have strange ifeas about how hardened people in the past must have been, but I conclude this is not the case at all. Pain is fresh and personal through any age, and Defoe, though writing from anither age, still manages to paint an account that highlights rhis very human struggle of surviving in this world. Well worth the read.

good reading of a great book

(5 stars)

E

I participated in a weeklong discussion of the plague bills from the late Tudor to Stuart visitations of the plague. Defoe’s mania for numerical detail in all his writing always raises eyebrows, but most scholars, better sourced than I agree that his numbers are too accurate to be mere speculation. His uncle Henry Foe—likely H.F.—was a London saddler when who stayed behind when Daniel’s father, Richard, fled London in 1665. DeFoe’s “Journal” is probably an embellishment of his uncle’s lost writing or of an energetic mind piecing together his relative’s lore. In either way a great, important book, read by a great LibriVox contributor.

JMDinOKC

(4.5 stars)

mafinokc

The “Journal” in the title says it all: There was a time (and it still may be the case) when a journalism curriculum invariably started with this book, which, although it was written well after the events it describes, has long been considered the first work of true journalism in English. As for the reviewers who characterize this narrative as harrowing: Well, you sort of have to expect that when you pick up a book with “plague year” in the title. The reader in this LibriVox version starts out sounding terrible, but surprisingly, his voice and delivery grow on you.

The year 1665 in London

(5 stars)

Robert Cruthirds

As the author states, a "melancholy account" of the 1665 plague year in London. But it's really much more than statistics since it contains a first hand account of the plague. Apparently, Defoe's uncle wrote the original since he was a saddle maker in London who stayed behind after his brother's family fled the city. I assume DeFoe edited parts of this narrative, but probably retained most of the original observations of his uncle. The reader did quite well in his clarity and pronunciation.

wow

(5 stars)

A. Freeman Wood

what a dreadful tale. I have listened to this twice. I cannot help but think of Jeremiah or The Book of Lamentations in comparison. as in the later, there is also a message of hope in the former. extremely informative and inspiring. the tale shows the best and worst of mankind and all that lies in between. the reader did a phenomenal job and is my favorite on LibriVox.

Fifteen Days To Slow The Spread

(5 stars)

potuc

Chilling account of the strike of the Great Plague. Alarming how similar the effects on the general population were to COVID-19. Fake cures, lifesaving doctors, and social distancing. As the COVID pandemic is still running strong in the US as of this writing (early 2022), I am listening to more audiobooks, and get chances to listen to slightly more obscure things like this!

Amazing

(5 stars)

Del Absalom

Very well read. I'm listening to this while quarantining for 14 days in London! The parallels with covid are astounding, quack cures, lockdowns, doctors dying trying to save lives, social distancing it is all there. I can't believe what I'm hearing.

(5 stars)

A LibriVox Listener

Well read. How much of the Plague we can find reflected today in the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020.