16 h 18 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Can a London pickpocket rise in the world without leaving his conscience behind?
In Daniel Defoe’s Colonel Jack, a pickpocket’s life opens onto a wider world of adventure. Jack rises from the London streets to become a planter, soldier, and gentleman. Yet his changing place in society is only part of this tale of crime, conscience, and redemption.
First published in 1722, this classic picaresque tale follows Jack through sharply different walks of life. His rise brings a question into focus: what does it mean to become a gentleman? The pull lies in the distance between a criminal past, a new position, and the claims of conscience.
What you’ll discover
- A pickpocket’s beginnings Enter a story rooted in London’s streets, where Jack’s long rise begins.
- A life of adventure Follow Jack from pickpocket to planter, soldier, and gentleman across a changing life.
- Crime and conscience Explore the tension between getting ahead and facing the moral weight of crime.
- The meaning of gentility Consider what separates the standing of a gentleman from the demands of conscience.
- The hope of redemption Read a tale that places redemption alongside the restless movement of adventure.
Who will love it
For readers who love picaresque adventures, tales of crime and redemption, and a pickpocket’s rise from the London streets to planter, soldier, and gentleman.
What’s inside
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Colonel Jack
by Daniel Defoe · 1722
A pickpocket rises from the London streets toward a gentleman’s life, with crime and conscience at stake.
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The author
Daniel Defoe
1660–1731 · English novelist and journalist
Daniel Defoe was an English trader, writer, and journalist. He was born in London in 1660 and died there in 1731. He wrote Robinson Crusoe and The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe in 1719. Moll Flanders, A Journal of the Plague Year, and Colonel Jack appeared in 1722.
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