Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731. Fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders is a picaresque novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be an autobiographical account of the life of the eponymous heroine, detailing her exploits from birth until old age as she uses her wits, cunning and charm to provide herself with financial security. While the novel is now generally attributed to Defoe, and his name is given as the author in modern printings, the original text does not list an author and was presented as an autobiography. The attribution to Defoe was first made by bookseller Francis Noble in 1770, thirty-nine years after Defoe's death in 1731. Moll Flanders has been adapted numerous times for stage, radio, film and television. It has historically been the subject of occasional police censorship.