Moll Flanders

Loosely inspired by the lives of famous female criminals such as Moll Cutpurse, Defoe's Moll Flanders is as much a narrative of survival as it is of redemption. Moll, like her author, is endlessly resourceful and, as the preface foreshadows, lives as many women in one lifetime. This bears an uncanny similarity with Defoe himself who was a tradesman, traveller, politics agent, spy and also a writer. This critical edition has been designed keeping in mind the multifaceted personalities of the author and the character. It offers an in-depth introduction that presents the modern reader with upcoming areas such as urbanity and criminality to help them keep pace with the latest avenues of research in this field. The critical essays cover issues ranging from narrative form, female criminal biography to women challenging burgeoning capitalist patriarchy. The chronology and background readings will further assist in nudging the reader towards new areas of inquiry. The book aims to encourage the reader to develop an understanding of the historical and cultural context within which the text was produced.AVANTIKA POKHRIYAL has taught for over six years in University of Delhi. She has received the Capacity Building Award from the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. She is currently pursuing the doctoral programme at Uppasala University, Sweden.