Moll Flanders | Critical Overview

When Moll Flanders was published in 1722, most reactions to it focused on one of two points: which of the numerous infamous female pickpockets of the day Defoe was writing about when he created Moll, or the base nature of the story itself. On the latter count, a famous anonymous couplet, appearing in a 1729 edition of The Flying Post; or Weekly Medley, indicated that only members of the lower classes were reading Defoe’s hugely popular book:

Down in the kitchen, honest Dick and Doll Are studying Colonel Jack and Flanders Moll.

However,...

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