 Another source of information on the time is "A Journal of the Plague Year", which was written by Daniel Defoe and published in 1722.He had been only six when the plague struck but made use of his family's recollections (his uncle was a saddler in East London and his father a butcher in Cripplegate), interviews with survivors and sight of such official records as were available.By July 1665, plague was rampant in the City of London.