Serialization of <i>Moll Flanders</i> in <i>The London Post</i> and <i>The Kentish Post</i> , 1722

Abstract

Abstract Four recently discovered issues of the Kentish Post for 1722 have a serialization of Moll Flanders on their first two pages. One of several newspapers called the London Post also serialized this novel in the same year. Both of these serializations appeared within a few months of the first appearance of Moll Flanders , and the relationship between these various versions is discussed. In particular, the London Post offers a continuation of the original novel which seems textually to be an intermediate step to the pirated version of the novel published in 1723 by Thomas Read, the publisher of the London Post and the probable author of the continuation and piracy. Further examples of serialization of novels in newspapers of the 1720s are discussed.