Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was an English writer who became one of the first Western writers to write novels and turn them into a sought after literary genre.Daniel Defoe was , journalist, and spy, who gained enduring fame for his novel "Robinson Crusoe". A prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural).