Aphra Behn

c. 1640 – 16 April 1689

Aphra Behn (c. 1640-1689) was an English playwright, poet, translator, and fiction writer of the Restoration era, and one of the first Englishwomen to earn her living by writing. After serving as a spy for Charles II, she wrote successful comedies such as The Rover and the influential prose work Oroonoko.

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Life events

Born, probably in Kent, England
c. 1640

Aphra Behn was born around 1640, most likely near Canterbury in Kent; the details of her parentage and early life are obscure and much debated.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Possible voyage to Surinam
c. 1663

Behn is believed to have travelled to the English colony of Surinam in the early 1660s, an experience she later drew on for her novel Oroonoko, though the visit is not fully documented.

Relocation ?
Marriage to Johan Behn
c. 1664

Around 1664 she is thought to have married a merchant named Johan Behn, possibly of Dutch or German extraction; he died or the couple separated soon afterwards, and little about the marriage is certain.

Relationship ?
Served as a spy for Charles II in Antwerp
July 1666

In 1666, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Behn was employed as a political spy in Antwerp under the code name Astrea, but was left unpaid and returned to London in debt.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
First staged play, The Forc'd Marriage
September 1670

Behn's debut play, The Forc'd Marriage, was produced by the Duke's Company in London in September 1670, launching her career as a professional playwright.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Premiere of The Rover
March 1677

Behn's most successful comedy, The Rover, premiered in London in 1677 and remained popular on the Restoration stage.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Published the poetry collection Poems upon Several Occasions
1684

In 1684 Behn published Poems upon Several Occasions, including her celebrated pastoral and amatory verse.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Published Oroonoko
1688

Behn's prose narrative Oroonoko, the story of an enslaved African prince in Surinam, appeared in 1688 and became an important precursor of the English novel and of antislavery literature.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in London and buried in Westminster Abbey
16 April 1689

Aphra Behn died on 16 April 1689 after years of declining health and poverty and was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓