Women's History Month - Aphra Behn
Mar. 16th, 2011 08:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vivienBwahaha, I am so delighted that I found Aphra Behn.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behn:
Aphra Behn (10 July 1640 – 16 April 1689) was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.
She was also a SPY!
By 1666 Behn had become attached to the Court, possibly through the influence of Thomas Culpepper and other associates of influence, where she was recruited as a political spy to Antwerp by Charles II. Her code name for her exploits is said to have been Astrea, a name under which she subsequently published much of her writings.
From http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/behn/behnbio.htm:
In March, 1677, Aphra Behn's play The Rover was produced. It was probably her most successful play, and to this day her best known. Nell Gwyn, the famed actress and mistress to King Charles II, came out of retirement to play the role of the whore, Angelica Bianca ('white angel').
Now there's a set up for a historical fiction novel I'd devour.
While Behn's plays were generally popular with their audiences, she encountered criticism from contemporaries and later readers alike for the rampant sexual content. Alexander Pope, for instance, wrote of Behn:
The stage how loosely does Astræea tread
Who fairly puts all characters to bed.
Haters gotta hate. It sounds like Aphra was a woman who believed in exploring sexuality and marching to the beat of her own drummer. It makes me happy to find women like her from centuries ago. Things don't change as much as we think they do, and alternative thinkers have always been with us.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behn:
Aphra Behn (10 July 1640 – 16 April 1689) was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.
She was also a SPY!
By 1666 Behn had become attached to the Court, possibly through the influence of Thomas Culpepper and other associates of influence, where she was recruited as a political spy to Antwerp by Charles II. Her code name for her exploits is said to have been Astrea, a name under which she subsequently published much of her writings.
From http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/behn/behnbio.htm:
In March, 1677, Aphra Behn's play The Rover was produced. It was probably her most successful play, and to this day her best known. Nell Gwyn, the famed actress and mistress to King Charles II, came out of retirement to play the role of the whore, Angelica Bianca ('white angel').
Now there's a set up for a historical fiction novel I'd devour.
While Behn's plays were generally popular with their audiences, she encountered criticism from contemporaries and later readers alike for the rampant sexual content. Alexander Pope, for instance, wrote of Behn:
The stage how loosely does Astræea tread
Who fairly puts all characters to bed.
Haters gotta hate. It sounds like Aphra was a woman who believed in exploring sexuality and marching to the beat of her own drummer. It makes me happy to find women like her from centuries ago. Things don't change as much as we think they do, and alternative thinkers have always been with us.