by Daniel Defoe
First published 1724
Roxana stares at her five hungry children after her husband abandons them without money. She faces an impossible choice: remain virtuous and watch them starve, or sell herself to survive. She chooses survival. Roxana becomes a courtesan, trading her body for silk gowns and society parties. Men shower her with gifts and gold. She moves from lover to lover, each one wealthier than the last. Her apartment fills with luxury while her conscience grows heavier. The money flows but respectability slips further away. Roxana discovers that escaping poverty costs more than she imagined. Every choice pulls her deeper into a world where virtue becomes a memory and wealth becomes an addiction. She craves the respect she can never buy back. Defoe creates a woman caught between survival and shame, showing how desperation can reshape a soul. Roxana's story reveals the true price of choosing prosperity over principle in a society that offers women few paths to independence.
Genres: historical-fiction, adult-fiction, biographical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: forced-proximity, moral-dilemma
Period: 19th-Century
416 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics