Colonel Jack

First published in 1722, this novel follows Jack, a London foundling raised among pickpockets, as he tries to become a gentleman. He thieves in the capital, is shipped to Virginia as an indentured servant, rises to own a plantation, and later serves as a soldier in Europe. Jack recounts marriages, bankruptcies, and flights from the law in a first-person confession that keeps asking whether prosperity can wash out a criminal start. The narrative mixes crime, colonial labour, and the language of moral reform. The book is a picaresque life story in which trade, war, and plantation wealth are the means of self-making.

Bound in yellow linen with a wrap-around illustrative cover design in black by Lawrence, black leather spine-label. Black endleaves. Black slipcase.