DEFOE, Daniel (formerly attrib.).

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The Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts; First edition of this handsomely bound adventure narrative, attributed to Defoe until the later years of the 20th century.The Four Years Voyages follows Roberts (by all accounts a real historical figure) as he is captured by pirates, set adrift in a sloop, shipwrecked, and pursued across the Cape Verde Islands. Defoe's frequently clandestine approach to publication has resulted in an ever-changing canon. By the late 19th century, when this work was rebound, almost 400 titles were assigned to Defoe, nearly 300 more than listed in the first (1790) bibliography of his work.The attribution of the Four Years Voyages to Defoe, primarily on stylistic grounds, demonstrates the shift in critical attitudes to his famed prose style, for the work is now thought to be that of an less sophisticated imitator recounting Roberts's story.

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