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In Our Time · August 6, 2026 · 52m

Archive: Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn, Claire Bowditch, Janet Todd, Ros Ballaster
Show Notes

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aphra Behn, the first professional woman writer in English. They explore how she made her living as a playwright, poet and novelist in Restoration England, her probable time in Surinam which inspired her novel Oroonoko, her undercover work as a spy for Charles II, and her loyalty to the Stuart kings. The conversation also examines why her reputation collapsed for two centuries after her death when her work was judged too bawdy, until writers like Virginia Woolf celebrated her as the woman who earned others the right to speak their minds.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

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The First Professional Woman Writer in English
Apra Behn is widely viewed as the first woman to earn her living solely through writing, making her name as a playwright, poet and novelist during the Restoration.
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Oroonoko and the Surinam Connection
Behn’s novel Oroonoko, set in Surinam where she may have lived as a young woman, is considered one of the earliest English novels and features an enslaved African prince as its hero.
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A Spy for the Crown
Historical records show that Behn worked as a spy for Charles II in the Netherlands, adding a covert dimension to her biography before she turned to full-time writing.
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The Right to Speak Their Minds
Virginia Woolf wrote that all women should lay flowers on Behn’s grave because she ‘earned them the right to speak their minds.’
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Bawdiness and the Fall from Favour
Celebrated in her lifetime, Behn’s work was later dismissed as too bawdy and she fell out of critical favour for two centuries.
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References

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Aphra Behn: The Comedies — Kate Aughterson (2003) — Academic study of Behn's comic plays
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Seductive Forms: Women’s Amatory Fiction 1684-1740 — Ros Ballaster (1991) — Examines the tradition of women’s romantic fiction that Behn helped establish
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Oroonoko — Aphra Behn (ed. Joanna Lipking) (1997) — Norton Critical Edition of Behn's novel
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Oroonoko and Other Writings — Aphra Behn (ed. Paul Salzman) (2009) — Oxford University Press collection
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The Rover and Other Plays — Aphra Behn (ed. Jane Spencer) (2008) — Oxford World's Classics edition of her plays
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Oroonoko — Aphra Behn (ed. Janet Todd) (2003) — Penguin Classics edition

Misc

✧Behn’s work as a spy for Charles II in the Netherlands is documented, adding an extraordinary layer to her biography.
✧She refused to write a celebratory poem for William of Orange out of loyalty to the Stuarts, which may have contributed to her later marginalisation.
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