Moll Flanders (Norton Critical Editions) |
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Author:
Daniel Defoe
By WW Norton & Co
Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.5
EAN: 9780393094121
ISBN: 039309412X
Label: WW Norton & Co
Manufacturer: WW Norton & Co
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 444
Publication Date: 1981-04-02
Publisher: WW Norton & Co
Studio: WW Norton & Co |
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A great adventurous, historical account of a life., 2005-09-28
Having avoided watching various TV adaptations and never reading the book before, I was hesitant to read this book. Whilst working abroad the book was a last option on the book shop shelf. I was very much wrong in my assumption regarding the book. It is a marvelous account of live at the rough end during the 17th century. The story moves between London and Virginia and steps from one drama to the next throughout. I was captivated throughout by the trials and tribulations of Moll and her many aborted marriages and criminal capers. I was torn between feeling sympathy for Moll and being incredulous at just how many scrapes one woman could get into and escape from. As stated by others this is also a great account of live during Molls time and also of traditions, morals and customs of the time. I now almost regret not making time for the TV adaptation, although I'm sure it would not have been as good.
Great condition, poor writing., 2009-11-06
First of all, I am not criticising this book for the condition it came in - It was brand new, completely pristine. Being a set text for my university course, however, almost immediately causes it to be a book I really dislike.
Defoe writes through Moll's perspective in a disjointed, very strange style for the modern reader. Details that would have taken the modern writer pages to explain and express were skimped over in brief sentences - Something that is indicative of the time the 'novel' (I barely believe this qualifies, however...) was written, yet is completely jarring and weird for today's readers. The lack of chapters also means it's a difficult one to put down - Not in the sense that this is a compelling novel, but in the fact that Moll is so very erratic in what she details and what she does not, that it is hard to find a suitable place to end it for the day. And even if you do find a suitable place, you may find that the events simply bleed over into one another, and you have forgotten what preceded it, making the discourse a jumble of incoherent, inconsistent happenings that I felt offered little in the way of entertainment.
Book of its time, 2010-08-16
This is by no means a bad book, simply a book of its time, that for me was a hard read. I struggled through it and although I warmed to Moll and was interested in her escapades, it took me a long time to read.
Recommended only if you are able to take your time to read this book. It's worth it, but hard going at times.
getting to know Moll Flanders, 2010-06-18
After a bit of a slow start with this book, partly due to its style and partly due to my not giving it the 100% attention it deserves! I gradually grew to enjoy this womans escapades and although the author has given the full details of her criminal activities, I still warmed to Moll.I admired her determination to survive against all the misfortunes thrown at her. Throughout the book I recognised the good hearted and decent woman she was at heart. It illustrated how the happy life of a woman can change into a sruggle by no fault of her own and the guile required to adapt. I would also applaud the book for it's historical and detailed references to life, especially in the city of London for the low classes.
Reads Like a Legal Deposition, 2010-07-28
This is an extraordinary characterisation of a tough-minded woman making difficult and often flawed choices as she moves through a rags to riches story; unfortunately told as if it were a legal deposition making it overly detailed and dry despite the subject matter. Nonetheless, a remarkable book for its period.
The sub title of the book is "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest and died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums." And that's a pretty good summary of the plot.
Moll Flanders is a composite character who couldn't possibly have had all of the adventures and experiences that she goes through in the novel. She is based on Defoe's own experiences at the lower edges of London Society, including two stretches in prison. Moll is born in gaol to a mother who has been convicted of a felony and transported to America. Moll is left behind in London to survive on charity. Learning some social skills she is taken into a middle class family where her teenage good looks bring her to the attention of first one of the sons (Lover No.1 or, in Moll's eye's, Husband No. 1) and then the other (Husband No. 2), whom she marries. So is set the tone of the book, where Moll is set a series of moral dilemmas with limited room for manoeuvre and has to square the alternatives of behaving basely against survival. She remarries when husband No 2 dies only to have No 3 run off. Faced with starvation, she hitches up to No 4 despite now being a bigamist in the eyes of the law. They move to America where she discovers that she has married and had children by her own brother and so she flees back to England where she has another affair (No. 5), and then marries No 6 - a con artist after Moll's money - but they have fooled each other since both are paupers. Despite this they fall in love but agree to separate and Moll marries (No. 7) a bank clerk who dies and leaves her penniless again. She then takes to a life of crime, becoming the most successful petty thief of her day. Eventually the law catches up with her and in prison is reunited with her con-man husband. Both are deported to America where they become rich and successful and Moll meets her son. Phew!
As you see, my count is seven husbands not five as in the introduction, but Moll herself counts her two affairs as marriage whilst Defoe apparently does not - go figure.
This is all described in minute detail and each of her dilemmas is explored and explained by Moll at great length. She is not a moral character and her reasoning is frequently about money or survival - Defoe keeps up a running commentary about how much cash Moll has at any time. She has plenty of opportunities to get back on the straight and narrow but misses them all until in prison she repents of her past deeds. Defoe isn't trying to be moral but is explaining how difficult it is for poor people to behave well if survival means they need to behave badly. There is no narrator's voice giving an opinion and the book is written as if it were a legal deposition, micro-analysing each of the scrapes and problems Moll goes through. This slows the pace and makes the work rather dry.
If you are a writer then Moll is an interesting experiment - a strong, early 18th century woman who is determined to survive at any cost. If you are a reader then the book drags somewhat so that this becomes an interesting history lesson but, despite the huge numbers of adventures, ends up a little turgid.
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