# Defoe on Sheppard and Wild: The True and Genuine Account of the Life and Actions of the Late Jonathan Wild by Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe, Richard Holmes

Part of the outstanding biographical series – edited by Richard Holmes – that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Every book is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive.In this pioneering series, Richard Holmes, the world’s leading Romantic biographer, sets out to recover the great forgotten tradition of English biographical writing. ‘I have had no time for dusty tomes,’ writes Holmes, ‘I have looked for brevity, intelligence and style. Above all, I have sought out great biographical writers: biographers with passion, biographers who have found a way to the heart and soul of a memorable subject.’Jack Sheppard was an 18th-century Houdini – a handsome young escape artist who broke out of his cell on Newgate’s grim Death Row three times. Jonathan Wild was the infamous Thief-Taker General who helped to recapture him and many other criminals, only to be tried and executed himself for racketeering, among scenes of mayhem at Tyburn.Daniel Defoe, the master of adventure fiction, was fascinated by ‘True Confessions’ and the workings of the criminal personality (including its daring, its stoicism and its humour). He was the first to retell these stories, based on personal interviews in Newgate, which also include a thrilling (sometimes hour by hour) reconstruction of events.

DEFOE ON

SHEPPARD AND WILD

The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard

A Narrative of All the Robberies, Escapes &c of John Sheppard

The True And Genuine Account Of The Life And Actions Of The Late Jonathan Wild

Daniel Defoe

EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

RICHARD HOLMES

HARPER PERENNIAL

## CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE HISTORY OF THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF JOHN SHEPPARD

TO THE CITIZENS OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER

THE LIFE OF JOHN SHEPPARD, &c.

A NARRATIVE OF ALL THE ROBBERIES, ESCAPES, &c. OF JOHN SHEPPARD

THE TRUE AND GENUINE ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND ACTIONS OF THE LATE JONATHAN WILD

THE PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

The LIFE AND ACTIONS OF JONATHAN WILD

NOTE ON DEFOE ATTRIBUTIONS

INDEX

FURTHER READING

SELECT CHRONOLOGY

CLASSIC BIOGRAPHIES EDITED BY RICHARD HOLMES

Copyright

About the Publisher