Aphra Behn holds a unique place in history. Pioneer of women's emancipation, anticipator of abolitionism, advocate of free marriage, precursor of Rousseau, inventor of much that has become permanent in the English novel, and author of some of the best written works in English, she holds a place second to none of her contemporaries in history.
Using the turbulent Restoration period as a backdrop for this work, George Woodcock brings to life the spirit and the passion of no ordinary character in this literary biography. By bringing to the foreground the literary and dramatic qualities of her early plays, Woodcock identifies and discusses Behn's ideas on female equality, on dramatic writing, and on the world in which she lived. From her career as a secret agent to her triumphant entry into the theatre, and the world of literature at large, the multi-dimensionality of this fascinating woman unfolds.
Her condemnation of slavery, her unrelenting attacks on the institution of marriage, her wish to subvert the authority of parents, her uncompromising feminism, and her mocking derision of academic learning, with its attempts to restrict and formalize literature, all speak of a personality with passionate opinions and the courage to sustain them.