Today's classic is Moll Flanders (1722) by Daniel Defoe.
Written by Defoe in 1722 under a pseudonym so his readers would think it an actual journal of the ribald fortunes and misfortunes of a woman in eighteenth-century London, the book remains a picaresque novel of astonishing vitality. From her birth in Newgate Prison to her ascent to a position of wealth and stature, Moll Flanders demonstrates both a mercantile spirit and an indomitable will. This vivid saga of an irresistible and notorious heroine—her high misdemeanors and delinquencies, her varied careers as a prostitute, a charming and faithful wife, a thief, and a convict—endures today as one of the liveliest, most candid records of a woman's progress through the hypocritical labyrinth of society ever recorded.
You can read it for free online at Read Print.
If you've already read it, take a quiz to test your memory.
Did you know? It is also called The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders.
Have you read it? Have you seen the 1996 film starring Robin Wright Penn?