Moll Cutpurse, Her True History: A Novel

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Summary: Cute Feminist Reworking of Defoe's "Moll Flanders"
Review: After reading DeFoe's sensationalized drama of a poor hapless young girl being used and abused by men, this book about a swashbuckling lesbian petty thief by the same name is quite a relief--and a good chuckle!

Rating:
Summary: Utterly delightful
Review: Bridget is the daughter of an apothecary in the late 1500s in England. She meets the swashbuckling heroine Moll, and the two end up having a lifelong love affair, punctuated by Moll's many adventures. Somewhat based on the real life of Moll Cutpurse, a.k.a. Mary Frith, Galford's wonderful story is sure to appeal to those fans of Jeanette Winterson and Sarah Waters.

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Summary: correction to previous review: the Roaring Girl!
Review: Ellen Galford's novel is not a rewrite of Defoe's Moll Flanders! Dekker and Middleton's play "The Roaring Girl" was based on a actual London personage-- Moll Cutpurse, who also inspired the pamphlet debate "Hic Mulier/Haec Vir" by her cross dressing in men's clothes. Galford brings to life the "Roaring Girl" in hopefully more of the spirit in which she actually lived. Read it! Read all her work! Ellen Galford is the funniest and most intelligent contemporary (lesbian) writer I've found.