Daniel Defoe's bawdy tale of a woman's struggle for
independence and redemption, ''Moll Flanders'' is edited
with an introduction and notes by David Blewett in
''Penguin Classics''. Born in Newgate prison and
abandoned six months later, Moll Flanders' drive to find
and hold on to a secure place in society propels her
through incest, adultery, bigamy, prostitution and a
resourceful career as a thief ('the greatest Artist of
my time') before her crimes catch up with her, and she
is transported to the colony of Virginia in the New
World. If Moll Flanders is on one level a Puritan's tale
of sin and repentance, through self-made, self-reliant
Moll, Daniel Defoe's rich subtext conveys all the
paradoxes and amoralities of the struggle for property
and power in the newly individualistic society of
Eighteenth-century England. Based on the first edition
of 1722, this volume includes a chronology, suggestions
for further reading, notes on currency and maps of
London and Virginia in the late seventeenth century.
Daniel Defoe (1[zasłonięte]660-17) had a variety of careers
including merchant, soldier, spy, and political
pamphleteer.Over the course of his life Daniel Defoe
wrote over two hundred and fifty books on economics,
history, biography and crime, but is best remembered for
the fiction he produced in late life, which includes
''Robinson Crusoe'' (1719), ''Moll Flanders'' (1722) and
''Roxana'' (1724). Defoe had a great influence on the
development of the English novel and many consider him
to be the first true novelist. If you enjoyed ''Moll
Flanders'', you might like Samuel Richardson's
''Pamela'', also available in ''Penguin
Classics''. |
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