A sketch of Aphra Behn by George Scharf from a portrait believed to be lost.

Aphra Behn (July 10, 1640 – April 16, 1689) was a prolific dramatist of the Restoration, and considered to be one of the first English professional woman writers. Her writing participated in the amatory fiction genre of British literature. Download high resolution version (1073x1424, 1089 KB)Sketch of Aphra Behn by George Scharf (1820—1895) from a portrait believed to be lost. ... Download high resolution version (1073x1424, 1089 KB)Sketch of Aphra Behn by George Scharf (1820—1895) from a portrait believed to be lost. ... Sir George Scharf (December 16, 1820 - April 19, 1895), British art critic, was born in London, the son of George Scharf, a Bavarian miniature painter who settled in England in 1816 and died in 1860. ... July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ... King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ... Amatory fiction is a genre of British literature popular during the late 17th century and 18th century. ...

Who was Aphra Behn?

The personal history of Aphra Behn, the first Englishwoman to earn her livelihood by authorship, is unusually interesting but very difficult to unravel and relate.

Information regarding Aphra Behn, especially her early life, is scanty, but she was almost certainly born in Wye, near Canterbury, on July 10, 1640 to Bartholomew Johnson, a barber, and Elizabeth Denham. Aphra's parents were married in 1638 and Aphra, or Eaffry, was baptized on December 14, 1640. Elizabeth Denham was employed as a nurse to the wealthy Culpepper family, who lived locally, which means that it is likely that Aphra grew up with and spent time with the family's children. The younger child, Thomas Culpepper, later described Aphra as his foster sister. Wye College Wye is an historic village in Kent, England, located some 12 miles from Canterbury. ... Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent in South East England and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, head of the Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ...

In 1663 Aphra visited an English sugar colony on the Surinam River, on the coast east of Venezuela (a region later known as Dutch Guiana). During this trip Aphra is supposed to have met an African slave leader, who story formed the basis for one of her most famous works, Oroonoko. The veracity of her journey to Surinam has often been called into question; however, enough evidence has been found that most Behn scholars today believe that the trip did indeed take place. // Events Prix de Rome scholarship established for students of the arts. ... The Republic of Suriname, more commonly known as Suriname or Surinam, (formerly known as Netherlands Guiana and Dutch Guiana) is a country in northern South America, in between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. ... Portrait of Aphra Behn, aged approximately 30, by Mary Beale. ...

Life in England, writing career, work as a spy

Shortly after her return to England in 1664 Aphra married Johan Behn, who was a merchant of German or Dutch extraction. Little conclusive information is known about Aphra's marriage, but it did not last for more than a few years. She was reportedly bisexual, and held a larger attraction to women than to men, a trait that coupled with her writings and references of this nature would eventually make her popular in the writing and artistic communities of the 20th century and present day. [1] [2] [3] Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

By 1666 Behn had become attached to the Court, possible through the influence of Thomas Culpepper and other associates of influence, where she was recruited as a political spy to Antwerp by Charles II. Her code name for her exploits is said to have been Astrea, a name under which she subsequently published much of her writings. The Second Anglo-Dutch War had broken out between England and the Netherlands in 1665. [4] She becomes the lover to a prominant and powerful royal, and from him she obtains political secrets to be used to the English advantage. [5] Events September 2 - Great Fire of London: A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles IIs baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. ... Spy and secret agent redirect here; for alternate use, see Spy (disambiguation) and Secret agent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... The Royal Prince and other vessels at the Four Days Fight, 11–14 June 1666 by Abraham Storck depicts a battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. ... Events March 4 - Start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. ...

Aphra's exploits were not profitable, however, as Charles was slow in paying (if he paid at all) for either her services or expenses whilst abroad. Money had to be borrowed for Aphra to return to London, where a year's petitioning of Charles for payments went unheard, and she ended up in a debtors prison. For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... A debtors prison is a prison for people unable to pay a debt to another. ...

By 1669 an undisclosed source had paid Aphra's debts, and she was released from prison, starting from this point to become one of the first women who wrote for a living. She cultivated the friendship of various playwrights, and starting in 1670 she produced many plays and novels, also poems and pamphlets. Her most popular works included The Rover, "Love Letters between a Nobleman and his Sister", Oroonoko. // Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ... 1670 was a common year beginning on a Saturday in countries using the Julian calendar and a Wednesday in countries using the Gregorian calendar. ...

Aphra Behn died on April 16, 1689, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Below the inscription on her tombstone read the words: "Here lies a Proof that Wit can never be / Defence enough against Mortality." [6] She was quoted as once stating that she had led a "life dedicated to pleasure and poetry". [7] April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Status among other writers throughout history

In author Virginia Woolf's reckoning, Behn's total career is more important than any particular work it produced. After a hiatus in the 19th century, when both the writer and the work were dismissed as indecent, Behn's fame has now undergone extraordinary revival. She dominates cultural-studies discourse as both a topic and a set of texts. [8] Virginia Woolf (née Stephen) (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was a British author who is considered to be one of the foremost modernist/feminist literary figures of the twentieth century. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Woolf wrote, "All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn . . . for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds."

In an age of libertines, Behn undertook to proclaim and to analyze women's sexual desire, as manifested in her characters and in herself. She has since became a favorite among sexually liberated women, many of bisexual or lesbian orientation, who proclaim her as one of their most positive influences. [9] A lesbian is a female who is aesthetically, sexually, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to other females. ...

Today, the affinities between Behn's work and that of Romantic writers seem more pronounced than the different level of publicly acceptable discussion of sexuality. [10] It has been written that "Behn's writings unveil the homosocial role of male rivalry in stimulating heterosexual desire for women and explores the ways in which cross dressing and masquerade complicate and destabilize gender relations. Behn also analyzes female friendships and, more rarely, lesbianism". [11] [12]

In several volumes of writings by author Janet Todd, Behn's explorations of some of the key issues in Romantic studies, such as the role of incestuous and homosocial bonding in romance, the correlations between racial and gender oppression, female subjectivity, and, more specifically, female political and sexual agency are detailed. [13] Incest is sexual activity between close family members. ... This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. ... Gender describes a classification using masculinity and femininity. ...

Quotes of Aphra Behn

• "Love ceases to be a pleasure, when it ceases to be a secret." [14]
• "Variety is the soul of pleasure." [15]
• "Money speaks sense in a language all nations understand." [16]
• "There is no sinner like a young saint." [17]

Plays

• The Forced Marriage (1670)
• The Amorous Prince (1671)
• The Dutch Lover (1673)
• Abdelazer (1676)
• The Town Fop (1676)
• The Rover (1677 [part one] and 1681 [part two])
• Sir Patient Fancy (1678)
• The Feigned Courtesans (1679)
• The Young King (1679)
• The False Count (1681)
• The Roundheads (1681)
• The City Heiress (1682)
• Like Father, Like Son (1682)
• The Lucky Chance (1686) with composer John Blow
• The Emperor of the Moon (1687)

and posthumously performed: 1670 was a common year beginning on a Saturday in countries using the Julian calendar and a Wednesday in countries using the Gregorian calendar. ... Events May 9 - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. ... Events January 22 - Impostor Mary Carleton is hanged in Newgate prison in England for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation March 18 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Quakers. ... Events January 29 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia First measurement of the speed of light, by Ole Rømer Bacons Rebellion Russo-Turkish Wars commence. ... Events January 29 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia First measurement of the speed of light, by Ole Rømer Bacons Rebellion Russo-Turkish Wars commence. ... The Rover or The Banishd Cavaliers is a play in two parts written by the British author Aphra Behn. ... Events First performance of Racines tragedy, Phèdre Sarah Churchill marries John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough Battle of Cassel, Philippe I of Orléans defeats William of Orange Mary II of England marries William of Orange English Statute of frauds is passed into law Battle of Landskrona Elias... Events March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... Events January 24 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament August 7 - The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes. ... Events January 24 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament August 7 - The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes. ... Events March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. ... Events March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. ... The City Heiress is a play by Aphra Behn produced in 1682. ... Events March 11 – Chelsea hospital for soldiers is founded in England May 6 - Louis XIV of France moves his court to Versailles. ... Events March 11 – Chelsea hospital for soldiers is founded in England May 6 - Louis XIV of France moves his court to Versailles. ... Events The League of Augsburg is founded. ... John Blow (1649 - October 1, 1708) was an English composer and organist. ... Events March 19 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River. ...

• The Widow Ranter (1689)
• The Younger Brother (1696)

Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ... The year 1696 had the earliest equinoxes and solstices for 400 years in the Gregorian calendar, because this year is a leap year and the Gregorian calendar would have behaved like the Julian calendar since March 1500 had it have been in use that long. ...

Novels

• The Fair Jilt
• Agnes de Castro
• Oroonoko
• Love-Letters Between a Noble-Man and his Sister (1684)

Portrait of Aphra Behn, aged approximately 30, by Mary Beale. ... Titlepage of Aphra Behns Love-Letters (1684) Aphra Behns Love-Letters Between a Noble-Man and his Sister (1684) became the first part of a three volume roman à clef playing with events of the Monmouth Rebellion and exploring the genre of the epistolary novel. ...

Biographies and writings based on her life

• The Secret Life of Aphra Behn, written by author Janet Todd tells a fast-paced story of her life and loves. [18] [19]
• A Room of One's Own, written by Virginia Woolf.
• The Theatre of Aphra Behn by author Derek Hughes.
• What Is Triumph in Love? with a consideration of Aphra Behn, written by author Nancy Huntting.

Virginia Woolf (née Stephen) (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was a British author who is considered to be one of the foremost modernist/feminist literary figures of the twentieth century. ...

External links

• [20]

 *[21] 

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Aphra Behn

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Aphra Behn

• Works by Aphra Behn at Project Gutenberg
• Aphra Behn's Grave, Westminster Abbey
• A source for some of the above-mentioned works
• The Aphra Behn page