Moll Flanders

By: Daniel Defoe

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most determined, energetic, and lusty heroines in all of English literature, Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders will do anything to avoid poverty. Born in Newgate Prison, she was for 12 years a whore, five times a wife (once to her own brother), 12 years a thief, and eight years a transported felon in Virginia before finally escaping from the life of immorality and wickedness imposed on her by society. She is as much a survivor and just as resourceful as Defoe's other great literary creation, Robinson Crusoe.

Celebrated as "a masterpiece of characterization" by E. M. Forster, Moll Flanders is both a cunning examination of social mores and a hugely entertaining story filled with scandalous sexual and criminal adventures. In Moll, Defoe created a character of limitless interest, in spite of her unconcealed ethical shortcomings. Taking Moll through the echelons of 18th-century English society, Defoe seldom moralizes as he champions the personal qualities of self-reliance, perseverance, and hard work - even when it takes the form of crime.

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor

Brilliant

Any additional comments?

I have to admit it took me a while to realize the genius of this book, but once I got it, it is quite good. But I am wondering what happened to all those kids she had a basically abandoned.

Salacious in its day

Today this almost feels like a comedy or comic tragedy. The numbers of marriages and mishaps give this a sense of the absurd. Tough to go back to the early 18th century and understand the perils of caste and courtship. Stick with Robinson Crusoe.

Amazingly modern for a 200+ year old manuscript

Where does Moll Flanders rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was the first one but I really enjoyed it even though it had old English language.

What does Davina Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The feelings of the character are brought out by Davina Porter's expressive voice and acting expertise.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Classic!

I was in NO way disappointed with this audiobook purchase. The story moved along easily and held my interest to the end. The ending was so good, and I came away feeling so pleased with it, that I would say it influenced my rating of the story from 4 to 5 stars. As for the narration Davina Porter was superbly entertaining. She is by far my favorite narrator and definitely influenced my decision to purchase this particular Classic.
If only all audiobooks had such superior quality narration.....

Marvelous story and beautifully read

This is a delightful book! Written in the first person it chronicles the life of one Moll Flanders – not her real name but useful to sum up her life. She was born in London’s infamous Newgate prison where her mother was under a sentence of death for theft. Our heroine struggled on her own to form a life for herself and goes from one adventure to another. She tells us she was married 5 times and was a whore many years (by that she means what we would call a mistress, not a prostitute). Her “voice” in the book itself is enchanting and the reader does a beautiful job of portraying her and all the other characters. I will not give away much of the plot but reading it will give you great insight into the struggles women faced over the past 200 years. I found the part when she herself was in Newgate prison for theft very touching. How easily they executed people for petty crimes – awful to think of. Anyway, the book is wonderful and I highly recommend it. Don't miss it!

I nice and complex story

Would you listen to Moll Flanders again? Why?

No, I found the book interesting but a bit slow

What did you like best about this story?

How the main character adjusted to any situation and got herself out of trouble.

Which scene was your favorite?

When she found her mother in Virginia!

If you could rename Moll Flanders, what would you call it?

Not sure!

Glad I didn't live back then!

If you could sum up Moll Flanders in three words, what would they be?

A Cautionary Tale...about being a woman living in the 1720s. Thankfully cultural opinions about premarital sex and laws regarding inheritance of wealth and property have changed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Moll Flanders?

I feel like answering this would give away too much of the plot.

Have you listened to any of Davina Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I actually love Davina Porter as a narrator and chose this book, in part, because I saw she had narrated it. I find her voice, in this story as in the Outlander series, to be soothing and gentle. She's also really good with most accents (except American accents, where she sounds like an English woman trying to do an American accent badly).

If you could take any character from Moll Flanders out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I think the only person I'd take to dinner would be Moll herself...though she would probably spend all my money and maybe rob me. I love the complexity of her character and I think that she would've been much better off in the 20th century!

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed two things specifically: 1) this book gave me an appreciation for living in a time period where women have basic rights and a greater deal of choice over their fate, and 2) the effective use of first person narrative. I usually dislike first person narrative though it is very popular in many current science fiction and fantasy novels (my preferred genre), but I think that when it is used to create a character whose words clash with their actions like Moll it can add to the subtext. For example, Moll claims to feel penitence and sorrow, yet how do we actually know she feels this way? Her feelings rarely appear to affect her actions, and perhaps she is merely telling the reader what they want to hear or echoing back her culture's traditions and customs, while mocking them with her actions.

boring

Would you try another book from Daniel Defoe and/or Davina Porter?

That takes alot of thoughts

Would you ever listen to anything by Daniel Defoe again?

Not sure

Would you be willing to try another one of Davina Porter’s performances?

Not anytime soon.

Any additional comments?

Just plain boring. Very difficult to listen too and follow.

Not my taste and the narrator's voice is horrid!

Any additional comments?

I admit I didn't finish this one. The narrator's voice drove me crazy! (Be careful--I've noticed she narrates a ton of books). The story was not my taste either. I wasn't a fan of the detached tone of Moll (the narrator). Skip this one.

Like a Loop

A classic dull piece.

I think this was a shocker in its day and for that reason, its a classic today. I hated it. I didn't like the performance (narrator) at all. The story seemed like a loop of deception, gain, punishment, repeat.

There are some amusing characters and some insight into human nature. But this book was not my cup of tea and I could hardly wait to finish it.

Can't recommend.

Chris Reich