Aphra Behn
The first professional female playwright in English literary history, Behn wrote comedies of sexual intrigue that were as bawdy and confident as anything by her male contemporaries. The Rover remains her most frequently performed play. Virginia Woolf called her the first woman in England to earn her living by writing.
Works
- OroonokoNovella depicting noble African prince enslaved and pursuing tragic love in colonies
- The Fair JiltNovella of a woman wrongfully accused of murder and her escape with a noble lover
- Agnes de CastroNovella of unhappy marriage featuring a woman caught between duty and forbidden love
- The RoverComedy of intrigue with disguises and romantic entanglements set in Spanish locale
- Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His SisterNovel in letter form depicting illicit love between a nobleman and his own sister
- The Lucky ChanceComedy with mistaken identities and romantic complications involving witty female characters
- The Emperor of the MoonFarcical comedy about a man convinced he is the emperor of the moon with magical tricks
- AbdelazerTragic play of political conspiracy and passion set in exotic Ottoman court setting
- The Widow RanterComedy of colonial frontier life featuring a widow and her suitors in Virginia setting