Like Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year, a wonderful piece of 18th century journalism. Letters from "witnesses" form part of the account, as does early weather data. How far these were accurate, and how "doctored" they were by Defoe will always be unclear.
Defoe was in trouble with the authorities (again) and had become bankrupt so wrote this for money. Ironically, given the damage done to buildings in the storm, part of his defunct business interests had been a tile making factory.

This might be interesting for someone studying storms and storm damage. Otherwise not so much.

The Storm is centered on a hurricane that hit England, including London, on November 26–27, 1703. The strongest winds were approximately eighty mph sustained between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., and covered an area 300 miles wide. Defoe experienced the storm first-hand, and tells his account of the impact and the damage that he witnessed that morning. Defoe also published ads inviting residents across England to write-in their accounts, and that those accounts would be compiled in a book so that the storm would be remembered for posterity. Defoe mixed fact and fiction in his later writings, and may have done so to some extent in the Storm. As 19th-century critic William Minto notes, “it is possible that the letters are genuine, and that he compiled other details from published accounts.” (Daniel Defoe, Chapter III, by William Minto).

The letters from the public show great variety in the details of individual experiences with the storm. There were many tragic and sad deaths, and many miraculous escapes from death. The stories have a common theme of the severity of the storm. Many homes were demolished, roof tiles and other objects becoming deadly projectiles flying through towns. The strongest winds sweeping through at 1:00 a.m., most people had been in bed and so caught off guard (there were no weather forecasts to speak of in 1703). Defoe speaks of noticing the barometer being so low, he was sure one of the children had been playing with it, as it could not possibly go that low on its own. Many other households likely had the same experience. Even if they interpreted the barometric pressure accurately, there was little they could do in response that evening.

Defoe’s writing style is clear and very engaging in this book, though his writing is less than half of The Storm. Most of it comprises the write-in letters from the public in answer to Defoe’s invitation. The letters bring a local flavor that complements Defoe’s own account, and makes the reader feel closer to the experience on the ground.

The Penguin edition comes with an excellent introduction by Richard Hamblyn. It establishes the context of the times, and Defoe in relation to his audience and the establishment. For example, Defoe had spent time in prison recently for published attacks on high-level officials in Queen Anne’s government. He was released about a week before the storm hit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_...). Defoe was already a well-known “pundit” as we might call him today; before he had published any of his famous novels (The Storm was his first book).

The Penguin edition also includes a very helpful chronology and maps to give more context. The book represents a compelling slice of history, which sheds light on the culture of its time and place. I recommend The Storm to anyone interested in British history, world history, literature, or simply a good book to read.

Wow. Amazing collection of his own observations of the terrible destruction of the storm, which sounds like a tornado/huricane combination from hell, PLUS he asked people of good repute, through newspaper ads, to send him their accounts of storms in their particular towns and villages. With those ads he also heard from ordinary people who weren't pastors or landed gentry or whatever. I suspect 21st C humans will have such storms...maybe regularly.
Defoe had a roof tile business, but he was also often in financial distress and a target for his political writings. He lost his roof tile business which was the VERY THING that would have made him a millionaire after the storm...hundreds of thousands of roof tiles were blown off and smashed in the few days of the storm as it swept across part of England. Very very interesting guy, and gosh in a way he seems so modern!
~ Linda Campbell Franklin

[25 Feb 2019] An interesting and informative read, but now obviously best used as a resource as the language is, of course, dated.

A potentially good disaster book ruined by inept handling

Account of a hurricane in late November of 1703 (early December according to the Gregorian calendar- apparently England still went off the Julian calendar sometimes at that point). Could have been half the length if it weren’t for inclusion of several firsthand accounts that could have been merely quoted or otherwise referred to.

This is not the interesting and engaging narrative seen in the Diary of a Plague Year. This has a very similar style but the content is dry and repetitive. However, this could be because this is a collection of scientific research and journalism, whereas the Diary of a Plague Year was a combination of history, research and fiction. The interesting information is how the letters are written and what damage was done. However, I think more of an inclusion of how people or communities felt about the storm and the damage would have allowed for a more engaging narrative instead of the 'list' type contents of the letters. The most interesting accounts are the letters from Miles Norcliffe and the following account of R.P and Defoe's comments on it.

I reviewed an edition that came with William Minto's 1879 Defoe biography. You can read it here. As Minto explains, The Storm is actually a work of fiction that was inspired by real events, not a journalistic account in the way we think of it.

One word: Boring. Uni has taken over my life! Review to follow. Hopefully.

A very early example of disaster journalism. The Penguin version has a lengthy introduction by Richard Hamblyn, who wrote a delightful book called The Invention of Clouds. I found the introduction much more readable than Defoe's text.
The listing of disasters with the falling chimneys and the flying oddities became a bit wearying and this reader at least was glad to finish. People fascinated by calamity and weather will love it, others, not so much.

"But, the treasury of immediate cause is generally committed to nature; and if at any time we are driven to look beyond her, it is because we are out of the way: it is not because it is not in her, but because we cannot find it."