Overview

Aphra Behn (1640-1689), poet, playwright, novelist, traveller and spy, was the first woman to earn her living as a writer. This biography uses recently-discovered documents in England and the Netherlands to unmask this elusive author whose works include The Rover , The Fair Jilt , Love Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister , and The Forc'd Marriage . Returning to England after the Great Fire from Antwerp, where she is believed to have spied for Charles II, Behn became a witty and versatile contemporary of Dryden, Rochester and Wycherley. As well as recounting Behn's story and analysing her works, Janet Todd illuminates the political and social background of the period: the court intrigue, the theatre and its protagonists, and London life before and after the Restoration. Behn was also involved with the Popish Plot and the Monmouth Rebellion, the Stuart kings, Nell Gwyn, the Duchess of Mazarine and many others.

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9780863584169

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Reviews

'All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn; for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.' So wrote Virginia Woolf of the Restoration playwright, novelist, poet and spy, Aphra Behn. Behn was the first professional woman writer in England and for 20 years, the only female playwright. How wonderful that Todd's biography has been reissued. It is a riveting read, laced through with intrigue and deception. There are very few certainties about Behn, but Todd works like a detective in search of truth. The notorious 'Astrea' wore many masks in her lifetime but the book gives us enticing glimpses of the woman beneath them. The worlds of Restoration politics and theatre are marvellously recreated and one is left reeling at Behn's courage, determination and sheer inventiveness, for she created the role of woman writer for herself and so prepared the path for those who followed. Most of all, this book emphasizes Behn's skill as a writer. It is not just that she wrote but that she wrote well, a fact overlooked by Woolf, but celebrated here. Like all the best biographies, it sends the reader straight back to the artist's original work. Review by JACQUI LOFTHOUSE Editor's note: Jacqui Lofthouse is the author of Bluethroat Morning. (Kirkus UK)

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