Moll Flanders - a novel by Daniel Defoe, an English trader, writer and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations. It is usually assumed that the novel was written by Daniel Defoe, and his name is commonly given as the author in modern printings of the novel. However, the original printing did not have an author, as it was an apparent autobiography. The attribution of Moll Flanders to Defoe was made by bookseller Francis Noble in 1770, after Defoe's death in 1731. The novel is based partially on the life of Moll King, a London criminal whom Defoe met while visiting Newgate Prison. Historically, the book was occasionally the subject of police censorship.