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

A first-person account traces a woman's rise from precarious circumstances to wealth through calculated choices that compromise social and sexual norms. Told in episodic, confessional chapters, the narrative examines pragmatic self-preservation, shifting attachments, and a fraught bond with a loyal servant, juxtaposing occasional tenderness with habitual calculation. Themes include female agency under economic pressure, the uneasy distinctions between respectability and vice, and the moral ambiguities of survival. Detailed social observation and interior reflection keep the narrator's motives and remorse open to interpretation rather than offering clear moral resolution.