Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave
Author: first_name: Aphra
last_name: Behn
Language: English
Year: 1688

Aphra Behn was the first woman writer in England to make a living by her pen, and her novel <i>Oroonoko</i> was the first work published in English to express sympathy for African slaves. Perhaps based partly on Behn's own experiences living in Surinam, the novel tells the tragic story of a noble slave, Oroonoko, and his love Imoinda. The work was an instant success and was adapted for the stage in 1695 (and more recently by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1999). Behn's work paved the way for w