Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was born in London. He was a well-known novelist, merchant, pamphleteer, political radical, and journalist. As a young boy, Defoe experienced two of the greatest tragedies Britain had ever seen: the Great Plague of London in 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. His novel The Life and Strange Surprising Adventure of Robinson Crusoe was published in 1719 to critical acclaim. Deanna McFadden is the Executive Publishing Director of Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group. She is the author of several titles in the Classic Starts® series, including Classic Starts®: Little Women , Classic Starts®: Frankenstein , and Classic Starts®: Grimm's Fairy Tales . She lives in Toronto, Canada.