Aphra Behn

Born in the 1640s and buried in Westminster Abbey after her death in 1689, Aphra Behn became one of the most striking literary figures of late 17th-century England. She worked across drama, poetry, prose, and translation, building a public career at a time when women were rarely welcomed as professional writers.

Behn is especially known for her lively Restoration plays and for Oroonoko (1688), a short novel that remains her best-known work. Her writing often explores love, power, money, desire, and politics with a directness that still feels fresh.

Part of her lasting appeal is the life that seems to stand behind the work: stories of travel, royal service, and even espionage have long surrounded her. Some details of her early life remain uncertain, but her influence is not—she became an important model for later women writers by showing that a woman could claim authorship as a profession.