About BEHN

Very little is known for sure about Aphra Behn's life. Most of what historians know about her life is through her writings and when they were published. what we do know is that her father was lieutenant general of Surinam, a British colony. This was the setting for her later work Oroonoko. Although there was some controversy as to whether or not she actually resided there, the descriptions of Surnam in Oroonoko were so accurate that it justifies this suggestion.
She visited there with her family from 1663-1664 until her father died and she returned to London. She supposedly married Mr. Behn, who was suspected to be a Dutch merchant in England, but their marriage was a short one as he died two years later. There is no actual evidence of her marraige and Behn leaves no remarks of being married. We know no more about her marriage If she infact had one, but that after this time she did not remarry.
She became an English spy in Antwerp where she was to get information From William Scott who was in Surinam at the same time she was and who she is romantically linked. She ended up making very little money and was thrown in jail for a short period of time for debts owing. According to the English Translation of Pierre Bayle's dictionary, she "seems to have been accquainted with the greatest wits of her time, some of whom have honored her with encomiums, as Mr. Dryden, Mr. Southerne, Mr. Charles cotton and others.Her first play was The Forced Marriage (1670) which was very successful. It is presumed that she had made friends with Thomas Betterton, who belonged to a theatre company at Lincoln's Inn Fields and he played the lead in her first play The Forced Marriage. This was introduced at the Dorset Garden Theare. He is also said to have palyed Belville in The Rover. (Thomas Betterton)
Her second play The Amorus Prince was also successful and very original. However, The Rover doesn't seem to be quite so original. She is said to have taken many of the characters and ideas from a play by Thomas Killigrew's play Thomaso. (Thomas Killigrew)
SheHer last play, The Widow Ranter (1689), was largely unsuccessful, but based on her experiences in the New World. Behn was the first professional writer in England. She became famous for many of her palys. Many of the prefaces to her plays talk about the unequal education of women. The Theme of arranged marriages and the mistreatment of women in her first play resonated throught the entirety of her works. As she was a largely succesful and independant woman, she was able to criticise society for it's mistreatment of women.