Siân Rees has written a rather entertaining and informative look at the reality behind the fictional life of Moll Flanders. She examines the options and opportunities available for women during the seventeenth century. Although Moll is exceptional in many ways, her struggle to make ends meet and find a place in society is not atypical for a woman without kin. Rees explores the choices Moll confronts at every stage of her life, encompassing servant, mistress, wife, widow, colonist, thief and whore. Plenty of context, from real-life examples, is given, along with generous quotes from Defoe’s novel. A section on Defoe’s life and influences neatly rounds the book off. Moll is one of my favourite literary heroines, and I’m always glad to meet up with her again in all her many guises. As Rees points out though, on the big screen and the small she is invariably misrepresented. This book sets her in her proper environment, which will certainly enhance my next encounter with the irrepressible Moll.