In his long career as a writer Daniel Defoe never tired of advocating the value of personal observation and experience, or his belief in man's God-given duty to explore and make productive use of nature. In this first major study of Bacon's legacy to Defoe, Ilse Vickers shows that the ideas and concepts of Baconian science were a major influence on Defoe's thinking and writing. She outlines the intellectual principles behind Baconian science, and considers a wide range of Defoe's work, from the point of view of his familiarity with the ideals of experimental philosophy.