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An un-named baby girl is born in France but is relocated to England with her parents when they flee, because they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Although she is not given a name, and is referred to as "the woman", we discover later in the novel that her name... Read Full Overview

Beautiful proud Roxana is terrified of being poor. When her foolish husband leaves her penniless with five children she must choose between being a virtuous beggar or a rich whore. Embarking on a career as a courtesan and kept woman the glamour of her new existence soon becomes... Read Full Overview

'I liv'd indeed like a Queen; or if you will have me confess, that my Condition had still the Reproach of a Whore, I may say, I was sure, the Queen of Whores.'

Roxana (1724), Defoe's last and darkest novel, is the autobiography of a woman who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and then for fame and fortune. Its narrator tells the story of her own "wicked" life as the mistress of rich and powerful men. Endowed with many seductive... Read Full Overview

Roxana (1724), Defoe's last and darkest novel, is the 'autobiography' of a courtesan who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and later for fame and fortune. Its narrator tells the story of her own 'wicked' life as the mistress of rich and powerful men. A resourceful... Read Full Overview

Almost three hundred years after its first publication, Roxanacontinues to challenge readers, who, though compelled by Roxana's story, are often baffled by her complex relationships to her children, her fortune, and her vices. As one of Daniel Defoe's four major fictions, Roxanahas... Read Full Overview

Roxana (1724) was Defoe's last novel. It is a fascinating work, simultaneously strange and tragic, which dramatizes the moral deterioration and degradation of its complex heroine. Mlle Beleau, or Roxana as she becomes known, enters upon a career as a courtesan. She passes from... Read Full Overview

Roxana, Defoe's last and darkest novel, is the autobiography of a woman who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and then for fame and fortune. Its narrator tells the story of her own wicked life as the mistress of rich and powerful men.

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (full title: The Fortunate Mistress: Or, A History of the Life and Vast Variety of Fortunes of Mademoiselle de Beleau, Afterwards Called the Countess de Wintselsheim, in Germany, Being the Person known by the Name of the Lady Roxana, in the Time... Read Full Overview

High quality reprint of The Fortunate Mistress, or A History of the Life of Mademoiselle de Beleau, Known by the Name of the Lady Roxana by Daniel Defoe.

Defoe's last and darkest novel, is the autobiography of a woman who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and then for fame and fortune. Its narrator tells the story of her own 'wicked' life as the mistress of rich and powerful men. A resourceful adventuress, she is also... Read Full Overview

Publi? en 1724, Lady Roxana ou l'Heureuse Catin (?galement appel? Lady Roxana ou l'Heureuse Ma?tresse) est le dernier roman de Daniel Defoe, le deuxi?me dont le narrateur est une femme qui ?crit l'histoire de sa vie. Deux ann?es plus t?t, Moll Flanders racontait les aventures... Read Full Overview

This classic novel tells the story of Roxana, a young woman who rises from poverty to become a renowned courtesan in 17th-century London. As she navigates the complex web of relationships and intrigues that surrounds her, Roxana must grapple with questions of identity, morality,... Read Full Overview