# The Fortunate Mistress (Parts 1 and 2)

_or a History of the Life of Mademoiselle de Beleau Known by the Name of the Lady Roxana_

By Daniel Defoe.

"The Fortunate Mistress (Parts 1 and 2)" by Daniel Defoe is a novel published in 1724. When Roxana's reckless husband abandons her penniless with five children, she faces an impossible choice between virtue and survival. Through cunning and compromise, she ascends from desperate poverty to extraordinary wealth, becoming mistress to increasingly powerful men across Europe. But as fortunes rise through morally ambiguous choices, the past refuses to stay buried, threatening the carefully constructed life she has built through scandal and secrecy. (Summary by Project Gutenberg, written by machine.)

- Language: English
- Subjects: Historical fiction; Picaresque literature; Mistresses -- Fiction; Adventure stories; Great Britain -- History -- Charles II, 1660-1685 -- Fiction; Women -- Great Britain -- Fiction; Women -- Europe -- Fiction; Europe -- History -- 17th century -- Fiction

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From Project Gutenberg. Public domain in the United States.