This volume opens with a comprehensive memoir that untangles the complex and often obscure personal history of Aphra Behn, the first professional English dramatist. Tracing her early life from her birthplace in Kent to her formative years in Surinam—an experience that deeply influenced her later narratives—the biographical introduction addresses the controversies and romanticized myths that long clouded her memory. It details her hazardous service as a political agent in Antwerp during the Dutch wars, her subsequent struggles with crushing debt and imprisonment, and her eventual turn to the theatre for a livelihood.
The dramatic core of the volume presents a series of brilliant plays, most notably The Rover, which remains a masterpiece of Restoration comedy. Adapted from Thomas Killigrew's unwieldy romance Thomaso, Behn's adaptation breathes life into the characters, crafting a vibrant and fast-paced exploration of love, deceit, and wandering cavaliers in Naples. The narrative follows the romantic entanglements of Belvile, Willmore, and their companions against the dazzling backdrop of the carnival.
Throughout these pages, Behn’s mastery of stagecraft and brisk dialogue shines. The comedies reflect the freewheeling, amorous spirit of the Restoration court without succumbing to mere pornography, though they frequently provoked the prudish ire of contemporary critics and later generations. Alongside the dramatic texts, the volume preserves Behn's valuable prefaces and dedications, offering rare insight into the artistic prejudices she faced as a woman writing for the public stage.
The volume also includes other notable works, such as The Dutch Lover and The Round-Heads, illustrating her range from intricate intrigue to sharp political satire directed against the Puritans and Whigs. These plays are meticulously edited from early quarto editions and the 1724 collection, restoring omitted characters and correcting metrical divisions where necessary.
Ultimately, this collection serves as a testament to Behn's unyielding courage and brilliant intellect. Despite facing immense financial hardship, political suspicion, and unrelenting attacks from a hostile literary clique, she forged a permanent place in English literature, combining French-inspired elegance with a uniquely native vigour.
