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Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress

3.2/5 ( ratings)

'I had so long habituated myself to a Life of Vice, that really it appear'd to be no Vice to me'
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 too enticing and Roxana passes from man to man in order to maintain her lavish society parties, luxurious clothes and amassed wealth. But this life comes at a cost, and she is fatally torn between the sinful prosperity she has become used to and the respectability she craves. A vivid satire on a dissolute society, Roxana is a devastating evocation of the ways in which vanity and ambition can corrupt the human soul.
In his introduction, David Blewett discusses Defoe's literary career, his moral stance and his portrayal of his heroine's psychological turmoil and the social world she inhabits. This edition includes a chronology, bibliography, notes and a map of Roxana's London.

Language: English

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Release: April 29, 1982

ISBN: 0140431497

ISBN 13: 9780140431490

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress

3.2/5 ( ratings)

'I had so long habituated myself to a Life of Vice, that really it appear'd to be no Vice to me'
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 too enticing and Roxana passes from man to man in order to maintain her lavish society parties, luxurious clothes and amassed wealth. But this life comes at a cost, and she is fatally torn between the sinful prosperity she has become used to and the respectability she craves. A vivid satire on a dissolute society, Roxana is a devastating evocation of the ways in which vanity and ambition can corrupt the human soul.
In his introduction, David Blewett discusses Defoe's literary career, his moral stance and his portrayal of his heroine's psychological turmoil and the social world she inhabits. This edition includes a chronology, bibliography, notes and a map of Roxana's London.

Language: English

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Release: April 29, 1982

ISBN: 0140431497

ISBN 13: 9780140431490

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