Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders is a novel by Daniel Defoe. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. Moll's mother is a convict in Newgate Prison in London who is given a reprieve by "pleading her belly," a reference to the custom of staying the executions of pregnant criminals. Her mother is eventually transported to America, and M...