false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173821330m/332152.jpg 332152 24 Roxana (1724), Defoe's last and darkest novel, is the autobiography of a woman who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and then for fame and fortune. Its narrator tells the story of her own 'wicked' life as the mistress of rich and powerful men. A resourceful adventuress, she is also an unforgiving analyst of her own susceptibilities, who tells us of the price she pays for her successes. Endowed with many seductive skills, she is herself seduced: by money, by dreams of rank, and by the illusion that she can escape her own past. Unlike Defoe's other penitent anti-heroes, however, she fails to triumph over these weaknesses. The novel's drama lies not only in the heroine's 'vast variety of fortunes', but in her attempts to understand the sometimes bitter lessons of her life as a 'Fortunate Mistress'. Defoe's achievement was to invent, in 'Roxana', a gripping story-teller as well as a gripping story. 2046287 book 1724 Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress total:264|5:34|4:85|3:99|2:43|1:8| 264 885 455 26 3 0 false false Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 10:52:11 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 10:56:54 -0800 2009
The three star ratin...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Dec 18 17:07:42 -0800 2008 Sun Aug 16 12:49:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Sat Oct 04 05:23:40 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 04 05:23:40 -0700 2008
The basic story is of a woman who marries a pig a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 11:59:44 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 13:25:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 17:35:11 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 17:40:05 -0700 2007 Moll Flanders and Clio, but I think the greatest similarity is actually with Colonel Jack. More than anything else, Roxana loves to talk about money and credit, and she's not at all like Moll in her love affairs, even if they do sometimes manage men ...more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 29 19:04:38 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 21 20:17:27 -0700 2009
Let me start by saying that Defoe and I don't get along. I'm sorry if you like him but I've tried and I just find his work quite dull. I could get over the antiquated prose style if the stories were holding my attention. I find this book a pretty good example of Defoe...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 06:54:08 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 06:54:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Feb 20 10:14:31 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 09:51:35 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Oct 19 11:53:22 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 11:55:01 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Tue Oct 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 11:33:27 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 11:41:48 -0700 2009 1 I just didn't like this book all that much because I found myself unable to sympathize with its (anti)heroine. To its credit, the novel does draw attention to the crappy circumstances faced by married women in its time and the main character's hesitation to enter in...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Oct 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 10:20:57 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 07:39:22 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Apr 26 00:31:25 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 21:03:22 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 00:31:25 -0700 2009 3 0 false true Tue Jun 03 20:51:31 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 20:51:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 25 20:16:29 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 20:21:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 19 21:09:02 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 12 10:47:01 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Feb 25 08:58:48 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 06 07:11:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Dec 09 22:14:45 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 09 22:15:38 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Sun Mar 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 09:45:25 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 07:42:55 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Tue Mar 31 14:49:50 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 14:49:30 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Feb 29 10:36:54 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 10:39:52 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=332152