The fortunate mistress, or, Roxana

Roxana is a novel narrated by a woman of great beauty who, after her first marriage fails and leaves her destitute with children, chooses to rise through the favour of wealthy men. She grows rich and fashionable in London, Paris and elsewhere, yet her past and her secrets trouble her. The book explores independence, money, reputation and conscience, and it offers a sharp view of how limited women's choices were in Defoe's time.