Roxana

Daniel Defoe

Jul 2013 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

Beginning with an account of her first marriage to a man she describes as a “fool,” Roxana tells the tale of her unusual life in a poignant first-person narrative. As her respect for her husband’s intelligence and character decline, Roxana and her husband grow apart, and he eventually abandons her to fend for herself. As a result, Roxana forsakes her virtue and turns to a life of prostitution. At first she does this only to ensure her survival, but as the years pass, Roxana uses her powers of seduction for more selfish gains as she manoeuvres herself into the position of mistress to rich and powerful men, and aspires to fame, fortune, and an ever higher social rank.

Written as if it were the titular character’s autobiography, Roxana emulates author Daniel Defoe’s earlier work, Moll Flanders. However, as his final work, Roxana is much darker, and excludes the penitence and reform of the main character that is seen in Moll Flanders.

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About the author

English author Daniel Defoe was at times a trader, political activist, criminal, spy and writer, and is considered to be one of England’s first journalists. A prolific writer, Defoe is known to have used at least 198 pen names over the course of a career in which he produced more than five hundred written works. Defoe is best-known for his novels detailing the adventures of the castaway Robinson Crusoe, which helped establish and popularize the novel in eighteenth century England. In addition to Robinson Crusoe, Defoe penned other famous works including Captain Singleton, A Journal of the Plague Year, Captain Jack, Moll Flanders and Roxana. Defoe died in 1731.