Roxana, The Fortunate Mistress

Daniel Defoe's last novel "Roxana" is perhaps his darkest. Using his "fallen woman" archetype established in his seminal work "Moll Flanders", Defoe tracks the mercurial life of an unnamed female protagonist who adopts the pseudonym Roxana. The story of her rise and fall is a captivating account of the destructive powers of greed and seduction. Roxana begins as a deserted wife with five children. She chooses a life of prostitution for sustenance, and discovers opportunity to climb the socia...