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Moll Flanders (Abridged) Audiobook
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(3.00) - 31,746 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Born in Newgate Prison and soon put into foster care, Moll Flanders spends her life searching for a secure place in society. Her desire to belong propels her into an existence of fraud and deception, leading to numerous marriages, bigamy, theft, and finally, exile. Charting her progress from an innocent but determined young girl to a contentedly resigned elderly woman, Defoe's novel casts a light on the splendours and iniquities of life in eighteenth century England and America. It is a tale of sin and repentance, portrayed through a rich pageant of comical scenes.
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"With the novel still in its infancy as a genre of literature, Defoe has composed an almost journalistic treatment akin to a biography of a well-known criminal outcast. The author has however given one of the best treatments of character and investigation of moral ambiguity committed to the pages of fiction. It is revealed at the outset that the eponymous heroine carries the alias by which she is known in the criminal underworld. Moll, born to a felon sentenced to transportation to America in Newgate prison is a social outcast whose naivete teaches her from bitter experience to adapt coping strategies to survive. These, as the seriousness of her predicament deepens merge into criminal acts which test the readers' willingness to relax their own moral judgements in sympathy with this abandoned and cheated woman. The author has provided a heart-rending account of how marriage and abandonment can determine a woman's circumstances, as Moll learns to use deception as her only defence against the self-serving whims of her lovers and husbands. Defoe has the plot traverse the Atlantic several times as Moll's past and present merge to fashion her downfall and eventual reprieve. A classic of literature without any question."
— Steve (5 out of 5 stars)
Moll Flanders Listener Reviews
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" This is not one of my favorites; however, I am amazed at this woman's savvy, endurance, and tenacity in the 17th Century, not the 21st!! "
— Ruth, 2/17/2014 -
" Most interesting when Moll is spouting off lines like these: "She is always Marry'd too soon, who gets a bad Husband, and she is never Marry'd too late, who gets a good one: In a Word, there is no Woman, Deformity, or lost Reputation excepted, but if she manages well, may be Marry'd safety one time or other. . . ." "
— Cat, 2/14/2014 -
" Moll Flanders is an interesting story told badly. Admittedly, the novel as a form was still in its infancy, but it is tiresome to read a story full of reported speech, where no character is named unless the author can absolutely not avoid it, and where semicolon-spliced run-on sentences are the norm. "
— Aaron, 2/10/2014 -
" Loved this when I read it in college. "
— Rainey, 2/10/2014 -
" Ok...she just goes from man to man. "
— Sandi, 2/9/2014 -
" I'm not sure I've ever read a book that seemed to scream "Cautionary morality tale" as loud as this one did. I found parts of it interesting because of some of the insights to the setting, such as the existence of homes where women could go to during their "confinement" for care and birthing and delivery. Much of it was too over-the-top to really enjoy. As a man, Defoe also lacks a certain credibility for writing in first person for this character. He really didn't come across as genuine or believable. "
— Bridget, 2/5/2014 -
" Hard to believe that the same guy who wrote this wrote Robinson Crusoe--if that was an excercise in austerity, this is an excercise in late 18th century soft-porn. Crusoe a genius with the first person narrative. "
— Jenny, 2/2/2014 -
" Remarkably dull and boring -this novel went on and on with useless adjectives that ambled aimlessly, to the point my mind seemed to go on auto-pilot. "
— Christin, 2/1/2014 -
" This was a surprisingly fun read. I bought the book on sale, but once I got started I found myself looking forward to all of her various adventures. Moll's marriages and various affairs with men were largely told in a straightforward, often humorous fashion. Meanwhile, her life of crime was often filled with unexpected twists and turns. Frankly, Moll seemed like she would be very much at home in the 21st century, even though the book was written in the early 18th century! "
— David, 1/23/2014 -
" I could not get into this story, as much as tried. I intended to get to the end and not toss a classic to the curb, but really, I cannot be bothered to pick it up again. "
— Chris, 1/22/2014 -
" Somewhat lengthy picaresque early novel from Daniel Defoe, this book chronicles the life and times for the hard-luck cases in 17th Century England and Virginia. This book is quite long on plot and there is plenty of sexual longing, husband-hunting, incest, bigamy, fraud, prostitution, thievery, and redemption. In fact, there may be a bit too much plot as action moves rather quickly from one caper to the next. One thing I did note about the book throughout was that Defoe wrote this character very well and seems to have very little difficult in writing from the female perspective. Overall an enjoyable enough novel, but I found it to be missing that special something that turns a good book into a great one. "
— Steven, 1/15/2014
About Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), born in London as Daniel Foe, was a novelist, pamphleteer, journalist, and political spy. He is celebrated for his frank and dramatic realism in fiction and the accuracy, vigor, and lucidity of his journalism. Considered the father of the English novel, he was also the first author of ghost stories in English literature. He is best known for his novels Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders.
About Rowena Cooper
Rowena Cooper is a Scottish actress with an extensive career spanning over fifty years.