The tale is a journey from rags to riches of a woman who was born in prison and ascends to wealth and status. Defoe catalogues her misdemeanours, her spirit, her determination and her varied careers from a prostitute, a charming and faithful wife, a thief, and a convict. The title page gives the synopsis: "The Fortunes & Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders &c. Who was Born in Newgate, and during a Life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and dies a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums ..." "A Journal of the Plague Year" chronicles the year 1665, when the Great Plague swept through London, claiming nearly 100,000 lives. Defoe so vividly chronicles the progress of the disease that this book has frequently been miscategorised as "non-fiction".
Defoe is utterly convincing and this book transports us to the city, through the deserted streets and beside the houses with crosses daubed on their doors, introduces us to the citizens and we feel with them the horror, fear and hysteria growing. "Roxana" is Defoe's last and darkest novel. Again it is an autobiography of a woman who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and then for fame and fortune. This woman is well aware of the price she is paying and of her weaknesses. She tries to learn the lessons of her trails and struggles in life. But unlike his other characters, she fails conquer these weaknesses.
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