Publisher and Publication Date: Everyman’s Library/Alfred Knopf. 1991. First published in 1722. Genre: Fiction. British literature 18th century. Pages: 376. Format: Hardcover. Source: Library.Audience: Readers of British literature in 18th century England.
Rating: Okay to good.
Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, was an author during the time of Daniel Defoe (1660-1731.)
Goodreads’ author page for Daniel Defoe.
Daniel Defoe also wrote, Robinson Crusoe.
Links of interest:
Britannica.
Excellence in Literature.
Link for the book @ Amazon. The Kindle e-book is .99 cents today.
Summary:
Time period is 1600s. Most of the story is in London, England, and with a couple of trips to Virginia and Maryland.
Moll Flanders is not her true name, and this is remarked on at the beginning of the story.
She was born to a mother who was a prisoner at Newgate. Her mother is sent to a plantation in Virginia when Moll was a baby. Moll was left an orphan and in the care of questionable people in England. She lived with several different people while still a child, but through luck ended up living with a wealthy family where she had several years of stability and was educated along with the daughters. At the age of 17 or 18, she began an affair with two brothers. Later, Moll had other relationships and marriages, had several children, was a thief, a prisoner, was left destitute at times, and at other times she lived in the best of financial circumstances.
Moll’s life was a series of events where she had to make difficult choices. The choices were limited as to what she could do to earn a living as a woman in the 1600s. Her choices were often without the help of another person’s wisdom. Her choices were not always the wisest choice. Her choices were often made in hast.
My Thoughts:
I am still not certain whether to give this book an okay or good rating because I’ve gone back and forth. It is not that this is a bad book. It is not that it is poorly written. I did not enjoy reading the book, but I read it as a curiosity about the story, and a curiosity about life during this time period through literature.
The first point to mention about the book is there are no chapters. The story is one continuous long story.
I believe this is a telling story rather than a showing story. It is Moll Flanders telling the reader her story in chronological order. A few places in the story Moll Flanders is philosophical about her plight.
The transition in her voice, demeanor, and life is well-written and believable. Her naive and gullible self as a young girl is shown, and as she ages, she learns to be observant and mistrustful. I love the places in the story where she seeks honesty rather than a charade of truth.
She had several children. I’m a mother and it is difficult to read those places where she left her children. Some of the children, especially the last few, the reader is left to guess what happened to them. There isn’t a follow-up. I wish Defoe had written into the story her feelings in regard to her lost children-and not only the initial feelings-but her further feelings of loss. I wonder how often this happened during this time period. Is it possible this was a common occurrence.
I enjoyed reading about the culture and society of 1600s England especially in regard to the relationships between men and women. I wonder what the statistics were of men and women who were married to other people but left them and began living with another-often starting another marriage and family. Did people not always buy a marriage license. And did the powers that be not keep up with licenses.
Moll is a courageous person. She is brave. She is persevering.
Themes in the story: men and women relationships, sexuality, society and culture, prison life, pregnancy and birthing, courage, chance and luck, injustice, hope.
July 21, 2023
[Review] Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe | Impressions In Ink
maximios Review
Publisher and Publication Date: Everyman’s Library/Alfred Knopf. 1991. First published in 1722. Genre: Fiction. British literature 18th century. Pages: 376. Format: Hardcover. Source: Library.Audience: Readers of British literature in 18th century England.
Rating: Okay to good.
Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, was an author during the time of Daniel Defoe (1660-1731.)
Goodreads’ author page for Daniel Defoe.
Daniel Defoe also wrote, Robinson Crusoe.
Links of interest:
Britannica.
Excellence in Literature.
Link for the book @ Amazon. The Kindle e-book is .99 cents today.
Summary:
Time period is 1600s. Most of the story is in London, England, and with a couple of trips to Virginia and Maryland.
Moll Flanders is not her true name, and this is remarked on at the beginning of the story.
She was born to a mother who was a prisoner at Newgate. Her mother is sent to a plantation in Virginia when Moll was a baby. Moll was left an orphan and in the care of questionable people in England. She lived with several different people while still a child, but through luck ended up living with a wealthy family where she had several years of stability and was educated along with the daughters. At the age of 17 or 18, she began an affair with two brothers. Later, Moll had other relationships and marriages, had several children, was a thief, a prisoner, was left destitute at times, and at other times she lived in the best of financial circumstances.
Moll’s life was a series of events where she had to make difficult choices. The choices were limited as to what she could do to earn a living as a woman in the 1600s. Her choices were often without the help of another person’s wisdom. Her choices were not always the wisest choice. Her choices were often made in hast.
My Thoughts:
I am still not certain whether to give this book an okay or good rating because I’ve gone back and forth. It is not that this is a bad book. It is not that it is poorly written. I did not enjoy reading the book, but I read it as a curiosity about the story, and a curiosity about life during this time period through literature.
The first point to mention about the book is there are no chapters. The story is one continuous long story.
I believe this is a telling story rather than a showing story. It is Moll Flanders telling the reader her story in chronological order. A few places in the story Moll Flanders is philosophical about her plight.
The transition in her voice, demeanor, and life is well-written and believable. Her naive and gullible self as a young girl is shown, and as she ages, she learns to be observant and mistrustful. I love the places in the story where she seeks honesty rather than a charade of truth.
She had several children. I’m a mother and it is difficult to read those places where she left her children. Some of the children, especially the last few, the reader is left to guess what happened to them. There isn’t a follow-up. I wish Defoe had written into the story her feelings in regard to her lost children-and not only the initial feelings-but her further feelings of loss. I wonder how often this happened during this time period. Is it possible this was a common occurrence.
I enjoyed reading about the culture and society of 1600s England especially in regard to the relationships between men and women. I wonder what the statistics were of men and women who were married to other people but left them and began living with another-often starting another marriage and family. Did people not always buy a marriage license. And did the powers that be not keep up with licenses.
Moll is a courageous person. She is brave. She is persevering.
Themes in the story: men and women relationships, sexuality, society and culture, prison life, pregnancy and birthing, courage, chance and luck, injustice, hope.