2,677 words
Aphra Behn
Oroonoko; or, the Royal Slave
London: William Canning, 1688; Penguin Classics, 2003
Aphra Behn (1640–1689) was a prolific dramatist, spy, and Tory propagandist of the English Restoration. After spying for Charles II in Antwerp during the Dutch wars, she turned to literature and became a successful author—indeed, the first female literary author to earn her living entirely from her quill. (more…)