Beautiful, proud Roxana is terrified of being poor. When her foolish husband lea
ves her penniless with five children, she must choose between being a virtuous b
eggar 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 ma
n 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 betwee
n 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 ps
ychologically acute evocation of the ways in which vanity and ambition can corru
pt the human soul.
