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Audiobook edition · 10 h 0 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does justice look like in a city where the law cannot always be trusted?
In Frank L. Packard’s The White Moll, New York’s hard streets and hidden rooms bring gangs, police and ordinary people close together. Trust is scarce. At the center stands a woman who must use courage and wit to find her way through a criminal underworld that cannot ignore her.
Danger and disguise drive this crime adventure, but the choices matter as much as the suspense. Packard brings honest people, officers and criminals into the same streets, where their paths cross and law does not always mean justice. Short chapters leave you facing another threat or another question, eager to move on.
What you’ll discover
- A city with two faces Explore a New York of hard streets and hidden rooms, where suspicion shapes daily life.
- A woman worth following Follow a central figure who meets the criminal underworld with courage and quick thinking.
- The pull of disguise Enter a story where disguise adds danger to a world already short on trust.
- Law against justice Consider what justice means when the law is slow, blind or entangled with crime.
- Suspense that keeps moving Feel the tug of short chapters that close on danger or a fresh question.
Who will love it
If you love fast plots, secret identities, city nights lit by single streetlamps and a heroine who thinks her way out of danger, this book is for you.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Kindness gives Rhoda a shield
- An oath opens a hidden life
- Doing right looks like theft
- A borrowed disguise becomes a refuge
- The disguise brings an unwanted duty
- Fear does not stop her
- Returning stolen jewels creates another danger
- Appearances can turn innocence into guilt
- Kindness carries Rhoda into danger
Who’s who
- Rhoda GrayA kind young woman, known as the White Moll, who helps the poor and lawless of the East Side and wants to clear her name.
- The AdventurerA polished, fearless gentleman who admits to breaking the law and keeps appearing at the White Moll's side, offering help and keeping secrets.
- DanglarA cold, cruel gang boss with small black eyes who plots robberies and murder and wants the White Moll destroyed.
- Rough RorkeA hard police detective from headquarters who catches Rhoda at Skarbolov's shop and wants to see her punished.
- Gypsy NanA feared attic dweller who is not what she seems and leaves Rhoda a dangerous secret and a promise to keep.
- The SparrowMartin Finch, a young reformed safecracker working as a chauffeur, who wants to stay honest for his sick mother.
- ShlukerA bald, crafty junk dealer who serves the gang and carries its orders across the East Side.
- SkeenyA pockmarked gang associate who whittles sticks and guards prisoners for Danglar without a trace of pity.
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The White Moll
by Frank L. Packard · 1920
A kind woman called the White Moll hides in borrowed rags to outwit a gang and the police.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if a dying stranger made you swear an oath, then asked you to carry out what looks like a crime? That is the night that opens The White Moll.
The White Moll at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 30 min4 h 20 min fast, 6 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 78,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1920by Frank L. Packard
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A kindness earns Rhoda Gray her nickname
The book opens in a dark alley on the East Side, where a man snatches a purse from a girl. She calmly tells him to hand it back. He sees her face in the lamplight, touches his cap and returns the purse with an apology. She is the White Moll, and in this part of New York the name works like a shield.
Her real name is Rhoda Gray. Her father was a mining engineer, and she grew up with him in rough camps. In New York, a burglar named Pete McGee, known as the Bussard, broke into their apartment and was caught. He told a story of a sick wife and hungry children. Her father did not believe it. Rhoda did, and she found poverty exactly as the man had described.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Packard, Frank L. The White Moll. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-white-moll.
Packard, F. L. (2026). The White Moll. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-white-moll (Original work published 1920)
Packard, Frank L. The White Moll. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-white-moll.
@book{packard2026white,
author = {Packard, Frank L.},
title = {The White Moll},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-white-moll},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is The White Moll about?
It follows Rhoda Gray, a young woman who helps criminals and the poor in New York. A dying woman's request drags her into a gang's schemes, and she must hide in disguise while trying to clear her name.
Who is the White Moll?
The White Moll is the nickname the underworld gives Rhoda Gray. A thief first called her a white moll because she was good to his family, and the name spread across the East Side.
Who is the Adventurer in The White Moll?
He is a polished, daring man who calls himself an adventurer and says he has taken liberties with the law. He keeps appearing at moments of danger and offers Rhoda help she is not sure she should trust.
The author
Frank L. Packard
1877–1942 · Canadian mystery writer
Frank L. Packard (1877–1942) was a Canadian writer born in Montreal. He wrote mystery and crime fiction, including The White Moll (1920) and Doors of the Night (1922). He also wrote a series of novels featuring Jimmie Dale, known as the Gray Seal. He died in Lachine, Quebec.
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