Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe's last novel "Roxana" is perhaps his darkest. Using his "fallen woman" archetype established in his seminal work "Moll Flanders," Defoe tracks the mercurial life of an unnamed female protagonist who adopts the pseudonym Roxana. The story of her rise and fall is a captivating account of the destructive powers of greed and seduction. Roxana begins as a deserted wife with five children. She chooses a life of prostitution for sustenance,...

Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies of contemporary...

An abridged version of the tale of Englishman Robinson Crusoe, who, after becoming the sole survivor of a 1659 shipwreck, lives on a deserted island for more than twenty-eight years.

Ever since her birth in Newgate Prison, Moll has survived by her cunning wit, and considerable powers of seduction. She goes through five husbands and countless lovers to escape a life on the streets. In between using and deceiving her besotted paramours, she is not above picking a pocket or two. All the while, though, her heart belongs to the charismatic Jemmy. Inevitably, even the most clever criminal's luck runs out and Moll is soon facing hangman's...