Author:Daniel Defoe,David Blewett

Beautiful, proud Roxana is terrified of being poor. When her foolish husband leaves her penniless with five children, she must choose between being a virtuous beggar or a rich whore. Embarking on a career as a courtesan and kept woman, the glamour of her new existence soon becomes too enticing and Roxana passes from man to man in order to maintain her lavish society parties, luxurious clothes and amassed wealth. But this life comes at a cost, and she is fatally torn between the sinful prosperity she has become used to and the respectability she craves. A vivid satire on a dissolute society, Roxana (1724) is a devastating and psychologically acute evocation of the ways in which vanity and ambition can corrupt the human soul.
One of our foremost writers of naval fiction.
—— Sunday TimesAs always with Eco, there is much to admire
—— Sunday TimesA beautiful evocation of a difficult period of Italian history, full of the flair and erudition for which we love Eco
—— MetroGenuinely clever...the writing, the quotes and the pictures often tickle the brain
—— Irish IndependentWitty, playful, and incorrigibly erudite, Eco clearly had fun writing this book. There is much to enjoy
—— Daily MailAnother great exhilaration from Eco. Eye-poppingly fascinating
—— GuardianPerhaps the most intellectual novelist in Europe today. A highly idiosyncratic by engrossing novel
—— HeraldProfound and moving. A wonderful entertainer
—— ScotsmanEngaging
—— Sunday TimesThe opening is delightful, the sort of stuff that has readers rubbing their hands in anticipation...it is good to see Eco recapture something of his former glories, bouncing ideas of his readers with characteristic zest
—— Sunday TelegraphStimulating
—— Big Issue






