Faithful and handsome, the Englishman Belvile is in love with the Italian lady Florinda, who is betrothed to another. Willmore, the rover, is in love with Hellena, sister of Florinda and destined for the convent. And Angellica Bianca, a courtesan, is in love with Willmore. Against the backdrop of Naples during Carnival time, this varied cast of characters pursue life, honour, and pleasure in this comedic drama.Author and playwright Aphra Behn created a clearly male-centric world in...

A prince in chains. A love that defies fate. A story that still echoes through history. In Oroonoko, a noble African prince is betrayed, captured, and sold into slavery in a distant land—far from the life he once knew. Despite his circumstances, he holds onto his dignity, courage, and deep love, creating a powerful and emotional journey that explores the strength of the human spirit. As the story unfolds, themes of honor, loyalty, and injustice come sharply into focus, offering readers a m...

Aphra Behn, the poet, playwright, novelist and political satirist was the first truly professional woman writer in English. This selection, edited and introduced by Professor Janet Todd, demonstrates the full sophistication and vitality of Aphra Behn's genius. It contains the plays The Rover and The Widow, Ranter (the first English play to be set in the American colonies) together with Love Letters to a Gentleman, a choice of poems and two short novels - The Fair Jilt and Oroonoko - which ...

'We are bought and sold like apes or monkeys, to be the sport of women, fools, and cowards, and the support of rogues . . .'Spy, traveller and pioneering female writer Aphra Benn's story of an African prince sold into slavery is considered one of the earliest English novels

Oroonoko is a short work of prose fiction by Aphra Behn (1640–1689), published in 1688, concerning the love of its hero, an enslaved African in Surinam in the 1660s, and the author's own experiences in the new South American colony. Behn worked for Charles II as a spy during the outset of the Second Dutch War, ending up destitute when she returned to England, and even spending time in a debtors' prison, because Charles failed to pay her properly, or at all. She turn...

It is perhaps not altogether easy to appreciate the multiplicity of difficulties with which the first editor of Mrs. Behn has to cope. Not only is her life strangely mysterious and obscure, but the rubbish of half-a-dozen romancing biographers must needs be cleared away before we can even begin to see daylight. Matter which had been for two centuries accepted on seemingly the soundest authority is proven false; her family name itself was, until my recent discovery, wrongly given; the very ...

When Prince Oroonoko’s passion for the virtuous Imoinda arouses the jealousy of his grandfather, the lovers are cast into slavery and transported from Africa to the colony of Surinam. Oroonoko’s noble bearing soon wins the respect of his English captors, but his struggle for freedom brings about his destruction. Inspired by Aphra Behn’s visit to Surinam, Oroonoko (1688) reflects the author’s romantic view of Native Americans as simple, superior peoples ‘in the first state of innoc...

A groundbreaking early novel that blends romance, political conflict, and a deeply moving human tragedy. Oroonoko is a noble African prince whose life changes dramatically after betrayal and enslavement. Known for his honor, intelligence, and dignity, he finds himself torn from his homeland and thrust into a world of cruelty and injustice. Even in captivity, he remains steadfast in his values and sense of identity. As he navigates the harsh realities of colonial power and oppression, Oroon...

Some injustices echo across centuries. In Oroonoko, Aphra Behn tells a powerful and emotionally charged story of love, betrayal, and enslavement. Based on a West African prince sold into bondage, the novel confronts colonialism, power, and human dignity with striking directness. Blending romance with political and moral critique, the narrative explores loyalty, resistance, and the devastating cost of oppression. Its vivid storytelling and tragic intensity make it one of the earliest and mo...

This carefully crafted ebook: “Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave (Unabridged)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.This ebook is a short novel by Aphra Behn (1640–1689), published in 1688, concerning the love of its hero, an enslaved African in Surinam in the 1660s, and the author's own experiences in the new South American colony. It is one of the earliest English novels. Interest in it has increased since the 1970s, critics arguing that Behn ...

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was a spy for Charles II, a playwright, poet, and novelist, and the first English woman to make a living from writing. Her pen name was Astrea. Ernest A. Baker (1869-1941) was an English writer and historian of literature. In 1905, 216 years after Mrs Behn's death, he introduced this collection of ten of her novels in the language of his day, a form which was not a facsimile of her texts. This ebook, prepared 329 years after her death, silently corrects some typos, a...

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was a spy for Charles II, a playwright, poet, and novelist, and the first English woman to make a living from writing. Her pen name was Astrea. Ernest A. Baker (1869-1941) was an English writer and historian of literature. In 1905, 216 years after Mrs Behn's death, he introduced this collection of ten of her novels in the language of his day, a form which was not a facsimile of her texts. This ebook, prepared 329 years after her death, silently corrects some typos, a...