Moll Flanders

Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders which was written at a time when criminal biographies were quite popular describes the life of the irrepressible Moll and her battles through destitution and immorality in search of wealth and power. A picaresque mother gave birth to Moll in Newgate Prison. She rises through marriages periods of prosperity and squalor a voyage to the New World and a return trip before returning to her birthplace as a well-known prostitute and skilled thief. Defoe's themes of predestination social mobility sin atonement and reward are eloquently illustrated in the tale of Moll Flanders.