Moll Flanders tells the story of a beautiful, intelligent woman who seeks to escape her fate amidst the impoverished slums of London. As a woman, her primary avenue for improvement is through marriage. However, when her youth no longer guarantees such prospects, she chooses the path of crime. Under various aliases and a series of disguises, she becomes one of England's and world literature's most skillful and notorious thieves. Daniel Defoe's novel from 1722 is considered one of the great masterpieces of English literature. DANIEL DEFOE [1660-1731] was one of England's most versatile and prolific authors ever: a poet, journalist, political writer, travel writer, and essayist on subjects such as history and economics, among others. He is most renowned for the novels Robinson Crusoe [1719] and - the most critically acclaimed - Moll Flanders [1722].