Behn, Aphra

The Rover and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics)

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Great text, frustrating format.
Well-laid out text, excellent foreward

The Rover and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics)
Aphra Behn
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192834517

Book Description

Aphra Behn (1640-89) was both successful and controversial in her own lifetime; her achievements are now recognized less equivocally and her plays, often revived, demonstrate wit, compassion and remarkable range. This edition brings together her most important comedies in a single volume: The Rover, her best-known play; The Feigned Courtesans, a lively comedy of intrigue; The Lucky Chance, a comedy with a bitter edge, which takes a satirical look at marriage customs; and the dazzling and popular farce, The Emperor of the Moon. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner of the University of York, the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation. Detailed annotation helps the reader to visualize the plays in performance and the Introduction argues for the importance of Behn's skilful stagecraft and her great success as an entertainer.

Customer Reviews:

Great text, frustrating format........2005-10-26

The text is fabulous. Providing access to an underappreciated female writer is desperately needed. The modernized spelling is wonderfully accessible. But using endnotes rather than footnotes to explain all unusual words, references, etc. is unbelievably frustrating. And not even endnotes after each play - endnotes at the end of the book! I am dizzy from flipping back and forth several times each page to the end of the book.

Well-laid out text, excellent foreward.......1999-11-16

Recently introduced to the works of Aphra Behn, I found this collection to be an excellently laid out edition of some of her plays. The print is friendly to the eye (many collections of Restoration drama are not) and easy to read. I can only speak for "The Rover", as I have not had the time to read the rest of the plays. However, I found the notes and the forewards to the plays to be informative and easy to follow. It must be said that the notes were contained in the back of the book, as opposed to the bottom of the page; that was a bit of an irritant, especially when reading a crucial scene. On the whole however, I give this book a thumbs up!

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Oroonoko
A Brave New World
Very moving
OROONOKO

Oroonoko (Penguin Classics)
Aphra Behn
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Love in Excess

ASIN: 0140439889
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Book Description

When Prince Oroonoko's passion for the virtuous Imoinda arouses the jealousy of his grandfather, the lovers are cast into slavery and transported from Africa to the colony of Surinam. Oroonoko's noble bearing soon wins the respect of his English captors, but his struggle for freedom brings about his destruction. Inspired by Aphra Behn's visit to Surinam, Oroonoko reflects the author's romantic views of native peoples as being in “the first state of innocence, before man knew how to sin.” The novel also reveals Behn's ambiguous attitude toward slavery: while she favored it as a means to strengthen England's power, her powerful and moving work conveys its injustice and brutality.

Customer Reviews:

Oroonoko.......2006-11-02

I can see where this book has historical importance -- it is one of the earliest surviving novels by a female (written in 1678)and it is one of the earliest surviving fiction works to denounce slavery. For those reasons alone, I hope this work continues to survive. I found it amazingly fast-paced.

OROONOKO is the story of a Coromantien (Ghanaian) prince who, through his courage, integrity and physical beauty, wins the respect of virtually everyone with whom he comes into contact, including the prisoners he takes in battle and sells into slavery and the white slave traders who eventually take Oroonoko captive. Once he is sold into slavery in the then-English colony of Surinam, the man who purchases him continually promises Oroonoko his freedom once the Governor comes to the plantation. Oroonoko finds and marries a beautiful Coromantien girl who had previously been sold into slavery. When the young girl becomes pregnant, Oroonoko becomes increasingly anxious for his own freedom and that of his growing family's. He organizes a slave revolt. Unfortunately, all of the slaves except Oroonoko, his wife and one friend surrender immediately once their owners come after them. Oroonoko is re-captured and whipped senseless. While his wounds are still fresh, cayenne pepper is rubbed over his body. In his humilation, bitterness and desperation, Oroonoko comes up with a three-step plan (involving unspeakable acts) to achieve freedom for himself and his wife.

Despite the archaic English, the author creates a sympathetic character and holds her reader's interest until the end. She also successfully gets her point across -- that slavery is inhuman and that it dehumanizes both the enslaved and the slaveholders.

A Brave New World.......2004-06-08

This book was required reading for my American Literature course. Why read a story about an African prince in Surinam in an American Lit class? Voyage to a brave new world! That was the theme of the class. It encompassed the whole colonial experience in all of the "Americas". I am glad my professor went that route or I probably would never have read OROONOKO. This is a wonderful read. It is more a love story to me than a slave story. This book was written centuries ago but it is a very easy read. The footnotes in this version are a great help but the context of the story is enough for most readers to not get lost in archaic language. Add this one to your library. It is definitely worth it.

Very moving.......2002-12-06

This is a classic story about the horrors of slavery. I've heard this compared to "Uncle Tom's Cabin," but I don't think that's an accurate comparison. The story is about Orookono, an African prince who is deprived of his true love by his grandfather, the king. He is betrayed and sold into slavery, and happens to encounter his lost love in the New World, in the British colony of Suriname. The valiant prince (now called 'Caesar' by his overseers) tries to gain freedom for his wife and family, but in vain. If there is a story that does justice to the horrors of slavery, this is it.

I don't think this is the typical slave narrative because Orookono is a prince. Even the overlords treat him that way, and he seems more a victim of cruel fate than of slavery. Still, this valiant, brave-hearted soul is subjected and finally overcome by the cruel actions of the English colonists.

This story was written at the time the novel was first coming into being in England. It is revolutionary, and becomes even more so when considered that it came from the pen of a woman. Aphra Behn was one of the first major female English writers, and is arguably the best of her time. This is is great (short) novel, definitely well-worth your time.

OROONOKO.......2002-03-13

THIS BOOK IS WONDERFUL IF YOU REALLY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SLAVERY.

Oroonoko, The Rover, and Other Works (Penguin Classics)

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Oroonoko, The Rover, and Other Works (Penguin Classics)
Aphra Behn , and Janet Todd
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140433384

Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister (Penguin Classics)

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sexuality and desire

Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister (Penguin Classics)
Aphra Behn , and Janet Todd
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140435379

Customer Reviews:

sexuality and desire.......2000-05-21

Aphra Behn's Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister reveals the progress of the consciousness of the once innocent and naive Sylvia, who, after being seduced into an affair with her brother-in-law, Philander, learns of her own sexuality and desires.

Behn's novel is not only an exploration of the sexual politics of the socety in which she lived in, but also, an examination of the notions of gender and identity. The exchange of love letters between Sylvia and Philander allows readers to sense the intimacy between the two couple, but most importanly, it allows readers to follow the transformantion of Sylvia's identity from lady to whore. Behn conveys the double standard that exists in her society, and perhaps our society as well. Philander, after his lover affair and scandal is still a lord, but unfortunately for Sylvia, once 'undone' is no longer a lady.

Book Description

Sir Pat. How! her whole Family! I am come to keep open House; very fine, her whole Family! she's Plague enough to mortify any good Christian,--tell her, my Lady and I am gon forth; tell her any thing to keep her away.

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The Lover's Watch (Hesperus Classics)
Aphra Behn
Manufacturer: Hesperus Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1843910748

Book Description

A charming and witty volume of instruction for the aspiring lover, detailing hour by hour the correct way to spend a day apart.

As a beautiful and sought–after woman, Iris is well aware of the hours of reflection and sighing due to her—and of the dangers and temptations that await a man whose lover is absent. Thus, the hour between eight and nine, before Damon is enjoined to rise, may be spent in “Agreeable Reverie,” of which the principle subject would be, of course, Iris, while five o’clock is the hour of “Dangerous Visits,” when Damon will be prey to the wiles and machinations of his female acquaintances. Interspersed with exquisite—and instructive—verse, The Lover’s Watch is an ironic, sharp–witted observation of the universal manners of love as well as an invaluable manual for all eager suitors. Proto–feminist Aphra Behn (164089) was the first female professional writer in the English language; the author of many plays, she also wrote the highly regarded philosophical novel Oroonoko.

Rover (Regents Restoration Drama)
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The Rover

Rover (Regents Restoration Drama)
Aphra Behn
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Behn, Aphra | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0803253508

Book Description

New Mermaids are modernized and fully-annotated editions of classic English plays. Each volume includes: • The playtext, in modern spelling, edited to the highest bibliographical and textual standards • Textual notes recording significant changes to the copytext and variant readings • Glossing notes explaining obscure words and word-play • Critical, contextual and staging notes • Photographs of productions where applicable • A full introduction which provides a critical account of the play, the staging conventions of the time and recent stage history; discusses authorship, date, sources and the text; and gives guidance for further reading. Edited and updated by leading scholars and printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, New Mermaids offer invaluable guidance for actor, student, and theatre-goer alike.

Customer Reviews:

The Rover.......2000-03-06

Virginia Woolf said that all women together should let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn - for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds - well, within the Rover, her sexual politics are personified through the character of Angelica Bianca : and it makes for an intriguing read! Brandishing swords, embracing rape and finding their own individual identities in a society that veiwed women as second class subject, this remained the most frequently performed play right up until 1800!

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Selected Poems: Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn
Manufacturer: Carcanet Press Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In this collection Aphra Behn wittily negotiates the complexities and ironies of womens' roles in a society in which honor is a commodity. Candid and subtle, her poetry speaks with a distinctive, vigorous intelligence and satirical edge. This generous selection includes an introduction that sets her work in context, and provides notes on the text and suggestions for further reading.

Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave (Bedford Cultural Editions)

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Oroonoko the Romantic Hero
A surprising anti-slavery novel from the 17th century
A surprisingly thoughtful look at slavery
The Winner
Oronooko & the Power of Education

Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave (Bedford Cultural Editions)
Aphra Behn
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312108133

Book Description

This edition of Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko features a generous selection of thematically organized historical materials including explorers’ descriptions of the “new world” of the Caribbean; planters’ accounts of the sugar colonies; firsthand accounts of the slave trade from Dutch and English traders and abducted Africans; and early abolitionist publications by Europeans and former slaves. Excerpts from works by Ben Jonson, John Dryden, Richard Steele, and Daniel Defoe enrich students’ understanding of the literary contexts for Behn’s portrayal of “blackness” in Oroonoko.

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And turning to the men that had bound him, he said, "My friends, am I to die, or to be whipped?" And they cried, "Whipped! no, you shall not escape so well." And then he replied, smiling, "A blessing on thee"; and assured them they need not tie him, for he would stand fixed like a rock, and endure death so as should encourage them to die; "But, if you whip me," said he, "be sure you tie me fast."

Customer Reviews:

Oroonoko the Romantic Hero.......2005-10-07

As the first novel written in the English language, Oroonoko holds a special place in our heritage of literature. That it was written by a woman is an even greater accomplishment. The story follows the stream of consciousness of its author, and often skips around in time. There was no editor for this hand written novel, and to a modern audience that can be confusing. Oroonoko is not a tidy book, but it is an amazing book.
Oroonoko is a true romance. The slave-prince, Oroonoko, is a hero, and his main quest is to find the love of his life, Imoinda. After many adventures on his own continent, Oroonoko is swept away to the Caribbean where he is miraculously reunited with Imoinda. From there he continues his nearly unstoppable heroism: he fights immortal tigers, leads an army of slaves against the slavery he sent them into, and faces everything that comes his way with unwavering bravery. The romantic notions of the young narrator further elevate Oroonoko into the status of a man above men; a form of renaissance superhero.
While many claim that the book is distinctly anti-slavery, the true feelings of the narrator and the times are difficult to unravel. They are certainly against the enslavement of this "young Mars" and his "beautiful black Venus" (Behn) but as for the rest of the slaves... Well, you be the judge.

A surprising anti-slavery novel from the 17th century.......2004-05-08

Young Oroonoko, a Prince of Surinam, falls in love with a beautiful young maid named Imoinda. but unbeknownst to Oroonoko, his grandfather the King also has designs on the young maid. While the Prince is away, the King sends his vail to Imoinda, a sign that he wants to bed her. She reluctantly goes and staves off all his advances, professing her love for Oroonoko.

Upon his return, Oroonoko learns what happened to his love and finds her at the King's seraglio. they share a night together, but when the King finds out, he sells Imoinda as a slave, telling Oronooko that she died.

Despondent, Oroonoko is tricked by a British captain and becomes a slave. Taken to a new land, he accidently discovers his true love Imoinda and determines to escape the bonds of slavery no matter what it takes.

This story deals with true love and is probably one of the first novels to deal with the issue of slavery -- even though it wasn't a hotbed issue during the 1680's. The characters are very well-defined, either incredibly good or monstrous, even though they sometimes act more over-the-top or overly dramatic than normal. Oroonoko himself is even based upon a real prince that Behn had met from Surinam. It does take a bit to get used to the lingo and word usage of the 17th century, but I found myself seriously enjoying the story.

A surprisingly thoughtful look at slavery.......2000-05-15

This book is two great stories in one. It'd make a great movie.

Oroonoko is an African prince, in love with the beautiful Imoinda. When his elderly, impotent and slovenly uncle the king takes her into his harem, we get a nice Romeo and Juliet scenario that ends with Oroonoko thinking his lover is dead.

Later, the mighty prince is tricked by a sea captain and taken into bondage. He is sold into slavery in South America, where even his owners recognize his majesty. There he discovers his lost love, and something about the nature of bondage.

An compelling look at the nature of bondage, slavery, the human condition, European customs, love and passion, and honor. Especially intriguin because it was written in the 17th century, when slavery wasn't even a disputed practice.

The author is of note as well; Aphra Behn was the first woman to make a living as a writer. And she knows that her perspective is unique, and uses it to add to the story. How does the narrator really feel about this handsome African prince?

Pick it up. It's worthwhile.

The Winner.......2000-04-12

Man, all I have to say is Fredrick Douglas wins. Oroonoko is a conceited noble. He is oblivious to all that is really around him. He only sees what he wants to see. What a cause to die for. Let me tell ya.

Oronooko & the Power of Education.......2000-04-08

At first glance you would believe this book to be one about racism. However, if you look deeper you will find many lessons entwined among the pages. I found this story to depict the value of education and that "book smart" is only half of the learning process. One must also obtain "street smarts." Oronooko relied on tutors ending in slavery and death. Frederick Douglass, on the other hand, was a slave with a commitment to learn to free himself. The only one to teach him was his desire to learn. And guess who wins. Read it and see what you learn!

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