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.