Aphra Behn
The 17th-century playwright, poet, and spy who defied convention to become England's first professional female writer.
1640–1689 (age 49)·English playwright, poet and spy·Birthday: December 14
Biography
Aphra Behn lived a life of audacious firsts, carving a space for women in a world of letters that actively excluded them. Her early years are shrouded in mystery, possibly involving a stint in the South American colony of Suriname, which later fueled her most famous novel, 'Oroonoko'. She first enters clear historical view as a spy for King Charles II in Antwerp, a role that left her underpaid and briefly imprisoned for debt. Turning this cunning and resilience to the stage, she became a formidable playwright in the raucous Restoration theatre. Her works, like the witty 'The Rover', were commercial successes, packed with sharp dialogue and complex, sexually liberated heroines that challenged societal norms. Behn wrote fiercely, often under criticism for her gender and her frankness, producing poems, translations, and prose. She died in relative poverty but was buried in Westminster Abbey. More than just a writer, she was a pioneer who proved a woman's intellect could be a marketable, powerful force, paving the way for the likes of Jane Austen and the Brontës.
#1 When Aphra Was Born
The biggest hits of 1640
Aphra's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1640Born
1645Started school
1653Became a teenager
1656Could drive
1658Could vote
1661Turned 21
1670Turned 30
1680Turned 40
1689Died at 49
Key Achievements
- Authored the influential novel 'Oroonoko', an early condemnation of slavery and a landmark in English prose fiction.
- Wrote over a dozen successful plays for the Restoration stage, including the popular comedy 'The Rover'.
- Became one of the first English women to earn a living solely through her writing, setting a crucial precedent.
- Translated works from French and Latin, including scientific texts, demonstrating her scholarly range.
Did You Know?
Her espionage code name for King Charles II was 'Astrea', which she later used as a pen name.
She is name-checked by Virginia Woolf in 'A Room of One's Own', who wrote that 'all women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn'.
Her play 'The Forc'd Marriage' was one of the first in English written by a woman to be publicly performed.
She was a member of a literary circle that included the notorious libertine poet John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester.
“I value fame as much as if I had been born a hero.”
