Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders is a novel presented as the confessions of a woman born in Newgate prison who must make her own way in the world. Over a long life she moves through marriages, love affairs, poverty and crime, using her wits to survive in a society that offers women few secure options. The book blends moral reflection with lively adventure, and it is notable for its frank narrator and its close attention to money and social status. It remains a vivid portrait of early eighteenth-century London.