This book offers a comprehensive analysis of Defoe's oeuvre from the perspective of the historian. Clark presents Defoe by recovering the theological basis of his intellectual commitments, establishing him as a crucial figure in the evolution of theories about war and property, conquest and commerce, religious toleration and civil society.

The Headmaster's Darlings, winner of the 2015 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction, is a satirical comedy of manners featuring the morbidly obese Norman Laney, an unorthodox, inspirational English teacher and college counselor for an elite private school in Mountain Brook, a privileged community outside of Birmingham. A natural wonder from blue-collar Alabama, Laney has barged into the exclusive world of Mountain Brook on the strength of his sensational figure and its several-hundred-pound commitment to art and culture. His mission is to defeat "the barbarians," introduce true...