Aphra Behn

• She was born in 1640
• She was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator
• She was one of the first English women to earn her living as a writer
• She served as a literary role model for later generations of women authors
• She wrote under the pseudonym Astraea, greek goddess of justice, innocence, purity, and precision
• She was employed by King Charles II as a spy

Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave

• First published in 1688
• It is regarded as one of the first abolitionist and humanitarian novels published in the English language
• The novel is about slavery, racism, love, and honor
• It is a tale about an African prince who is tricked into slavery and sold to European colonists
  • The narrator claims to have known Oroonoko when he was in captivity in Suriname, South America
  • The text is a first-person account of Oroonoko's life
• Suriname is a British colony at the time the narrative takes place (the 1660s)
• Oroonoko is not just a slave: he is the last descendant of a royal line
  • He was the prince of an African country called Coramantien
• After leading a slave revolt, most of the characters die