Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #531011 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Synopsis
Aphra Behn (1640-1689), poet, playwright, novelist, traveller and spy, was the first woman to earn her living as a writer. This biography uses recently-discovered documents in England and the Netherlands to unmask this elusive author whose works include "The Rover", "The Fair Jilt", "Love Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister", and "The Forc'd Marriage". Returning to England after the Great Fire from Antwerp, where she is believed to have spied for Charles II, Behn became a witty and versatile contemporary of Dryden, Rochester and Wycherley. As well as recounting Behn's story and analysing her works, Janet Todd illuminates the political and social background of the period: the court intrigue, the theatre and its protagonists, and London life before and after the Restoration. Behn was also involved with the Popish Plot and the Monmouth Rebellion, the Stuart kings, Nell Gwyn, the Duchess of Mazarine and many others.

Customer Reviews

AN EXCELLENT AND FASCINATING BIOGRAPHY OF A GREAT WOMEN
THE SECRET LIFE OF APHRA BEHN IS AN EXCELLENT BIOGRAPHY ON ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMAN IN HISTORY. THE BOOK GIVES A GREAT ACCOUNT OF BEHN'S LIFE, INCLUDING HER WEAKNESSES AND MANY OF HER STRENGTHS. JANET TODD WRITES IN A UNIQUE STYLE THAT ALLOWS THE READER TO REALLY EXPERIENCE WHAT THE WOMEN OF APHRA'S TIME EXPERIENCED. JANET TODD ALSO PUTS APHRA BEHN IN A VERY REALISTIC HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND ATTEMPTS TO REALLY BRING APHRA'S TRUE LIFE TO THE SURFACE, IN ORDER FOR THE READER TO REALLY OBSERVE AND ANALYSE THE WAY APHRA REALLY WAS. THIS BOOK HAS CHARISMA AND GIVES AN INTERESTING DETAILED ACCOUNT ON A WOMEN WHO BECAME THE FIRST WOMEN TO EARN HER LIVING BY WRITING NOVELS, PLATWRITES, AND INCREDIBLE POEMS. APHRA BEHN WAS THE FIRST TO SPEAK HER MIND AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE MIND IT WAS. APHRA WAS ALSO THOUGHT TO BE A SECRET AGENT, SHE WAS EMPLOYED AS A ROYAL SPY TO HOLLAND AND PROBABLY SPIED IN SURINAM. JANET TODD DESCRIBES APHRA'S LIFE AS PARTIAL, APHRA'S LIFE HAS BEEN BURIED BY THOSE WHO THOUGHT HISTORY WAS DOMINATED BY MEN, IT IS UP TO WRITERS LIKE JANET TODD TO RECOVER THE HISTORY OF WOMEN, WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS HISTORY EQUALLY AS MEN.