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Biography & Personal Stories
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Moll Cutpurse: The Cross-Dressing, Pipe-Smoking Queen of London's 17th-Century Underworld
Mary Frith (c.1584–1659), aka Moll Cutpurse, was a notorious London outlaw who defied gender norms. Dressed in men's clothes, she became a legendary pickpocket, fence, and underworld figure, so famous she was immortalized in a play while still alive.
In the smoke-filled streets of 17th-century London, a world governed by rigid social and gender hierarchies, one figure stood out in brazen defiance. Her name was Mary Frith, but the city knew her as Moll Cutpurse. She was a pickpocket, a fence, a fortune-teller, and a pimp. More than that, she was a woman who lived life entirely on her own terms, adopting men's attire and habits in an era when such an act was a crime in itself. She was a legend in her own lifetime, a walking spectacle who captivated and scandalized Jacobean society.
From Mary Frith to Moll Cutpurse
Born around 1584, Mary Frith showed an early aversion to the roles prescribed for women. She reportedly detested needlework and other domestic duties, demonstrating a "boisterous and masculine spirit." This spirit quickly led her to the London underworld. She started as a simple "cutpurse," a thief who would cut the strings of a person's purse to steal it. But Mary was far too ambitious and intelligent to remain a common street thief. She soon graduated to become a fence—a broker of stolen goods. Her notoriety grew, and she became the infamous Moll Cutpurse, a central figure in the city's criminal network.
A Woman in a Man's World
What truly set Moll apart was her public persona. She rejected female clothing, opting instead for a man's doublet and breeches. She was frequently seen strolling through London with a sword at her side, smoking a pipe, and drinking in taverns alongside men. In an age where a woman's virtue was her most prized asset, Moll's behavior was a direct assault on social convention. She was a "Roaring Girl," a contemporary term for a bold, unruly woman who flouted authority. By adopting masculine dress and mannerisms, she claimed a freedom and mobility that was utterly denied to her female contemporaries.
An Underworld Queen and Public Spectacle
Moll's audacity made her a celebrity. She once made a wager with a famous horseman that she could ride from Charing Cross to Shoreditch dressed as a man. She won the bet, creating a public sensation. A contemporary, John Chamberlain, wrote about the event in a letter:
She rode... astride in her breeches and doublet, and after the ordinary manner of men, and tooke tobacco as she rode, a number of people following and wondering at the strange sight.
Her criminal enterprise was just as audacious. She established a network where victims of theft could come to her to recover their stolen property—for a handsome fee, of course. She acted as the middle-woman between the criminal and the victim, a position that gave her immense power and influence. She was arrested multiple times for a variety of offenses, from theft to wearing "indecent and manly apparel," but she always seemed to escape serious punishment, using her wit and connections to navigate the justice system.
The Legend on Stage and Beyond
Moll's fame was so great that in 1611, while she was still in the prime of her criminal career, a play was written about her: *The Roaring Girle, or Moll Cut-Purse* by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker. The play portrays her as a heroic, noble figure who uses her power to help others, cementing her status as a folk hero. She even supposedly appeared on stage herself at the Fortune Theatre, further blurring the lines between her real life and her public legend. She lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1659 after a long and infamous life. While some reports claim she repented on her deathbed, it's just as likely this was her final performance. Today, Mary Frith is remembered as a proto-feminist icon, a queer historical figure, and a testament to the power of one individual's will to live freely against the grain of their society.