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Cover of Oroonoko by Aphra Behn

Oroonoko

Aphra Behn

  • 162 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 1688
  • 14 editions
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1 About this book

Aphra Behn was one of the first professional English female writers and Oroonoko was one of her earliest works. It is the love story between Oroonoko, the grandson of an African king, and the daughter of that king's general.

The king takes the girl into his harem, and when she plans to escape with his grandson, sells her as a slave. When Oroonoko tries to follow her he is caught by an English slave trader and taken to the same West Indian island as his love.

  • Classics
  • Caribbean area
  • Africa
  • Princes
  • Slave trade
  • Slavery
  • Enslaved people
  • Esclavage

2 About Aphra Behn

1640–1689

Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barriers and served as a literary role model for later generations of women authors. Rising from obscurity, she came to the notice of Charles II, who employed her as a spy in Antwerp.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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