This famous novel was first published in 1722, at a time when Defoe’s political work was lessening, due to the fall of both Whig and Tory party leaders that he had been associated with; and his reputation as a novelist calling more of his works. The novel tells the story of Moll, whose mother is a convict in Newgate Prison and transported to America. Moll is raised until adolescence by a goodly foster mother, and then is attached to a household as a servant where she is loved by both sons, which begins a string of shady misadventures.