A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain is an account of his travels by English author Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...

, first published in three volumes between 1724 and 1727.

A non-fiction work that gives a matter-of-fact account of Defoe's visits to various places, at a time when there were no ready reference works. Anyone living in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 may find their own locality described there.

It is also a valuable source-work for anyone trying to get an idea of the state of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 a few decades before the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

. (The Industrial Revolution is normally reckoned to have begun in the 1760s, although some scholars say it had already started when Defoe was writing.)

External links

• Complete text of A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies, with links to the places mentioned, on A Vision of Britain through Time, based on the 1927 Everyman edition.
• A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (complete, but not proof-read), from Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  , 6th edition, London: D. Browne [etc.], 1762.
• A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain - Eastern Counties of England (partial), from Project Gutenberg
  Project Gutenberg
  Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
  
  , unknown edition.
• A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain - Letters 11-13 (in Vol.3) relating to Scotland (partial)
• Defoe on Turnpike roads (excerpt)