Oroonoko and Other Writings

by Aphra Behn, Paul Salzman (Editor)

The most complete collection of the work of Aphra Behn (1640-89) available, this volume contains Oroonoko and five other works of fiction ranging from comedy and high melodrama to tragedy. The works included are The Fair Jilt, Memoirs of the Court of the King of Bantam, The History of the Nun, The Adventure of the Black Lady and The Unfortunate Bride are complemented by a generous selection of her poetry from public political verse to lyrics and witty conversation poems.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Poetry, English Literature, British Literature, School, Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1696

About the author

Aphra Behn, or Ayfara Behn, of the first professional women authors in English on Britain wrote plays, poetry, and her best known work, the prose fiction Oroonoko (1688).

Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the Restoration and was one of the female. Her contributed to the amatory genre of literature. People sometimes refer to Delarivier Manley, Eliza Haywood, and her as part of "the fair triumvirate of wit."

In reckoning of Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf, more important total career of Behn produced any particular work. Woolf wrote, "All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn … for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." Victoria Mary Sackville-West called Behn "an inhabitant of Grub Street with the best of them, … a phenomenon never seen and … furiously resented." Felix Shelling called her "a very gifted woman, compelled to write for bread in an age in which literature … catered habitually to the lowest and most depraved of human inclinations. Her success depended upon her ability to write like a man." Edmund Gosse remarked that "the George Sand of the Restoration" lived the bohemian life in London in the 17th century as Paris two centuries later.

Reviews

[Kiely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book I've also read, but yet also not the worst. I can understand the value that it has as a historical text, and as narratives of colonialism go, this one is pretty good.
Also thanks for being the first ever woman to make a living by writing, though, Aphra Behn; that was pretty cool of you lol

[Wolf Vanlaer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastatingly and Horribly Beautiful

Oroonoko start als een leuke Antieke Roman, twee prachtige mensen van nobele afkomst, uit een land hier ver vandaan, totaal verliefd! Een kwade koning die hen hindert en als slaven verkoopt, maar een happy end in zicht bij hun reünie. Allemaal nog perfect passend bij Griekse auteurs zoals Chariton en Heliodorus.
Daarna wordt het echter een afgrijselijk Shakespeariaans drama met de meest afgrijselijke gebeurtenissen die ik in lang heb gelezen…

Aphra Behn schreef prachtig proza en ik ben zo blij dat zo op de leeslijst stond, want damn girl could write!

(Once again sorry voor de uitgebreide review maar jullie kennen mij ondertussen al)

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aphra Behn's Oronooko: or The History of the Royal Slave was said to be the first English novel as it was first published in 1688. Not only that, it was written by a female. Yes, even my favorite Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) said that every female writer should thank Ms. Behn for starting it all: having a gainful occupation by writing. Moreso, Oroonoko was not just a commercial love-story novel like the ones Jane Austen (1775-1817) wrote or Jodi Piccoult (1966- ) would write about. Oroonoko is about slavery in Surinam in the 1660s. Oh my, it was 300 years before I was born! They say that to understand a nation or enjoy history (especially those who hate thick history books), one should read fictions related to that country or period in history. A day spent reading Oroonoko (70 pages only) was indeed a day well-spent. This book truly deserved to be included in the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

Oroonoko was a young African prince who fell in love with the beautiful lady Imoinda and they got married. However, Oroonoko's grandfather, the king, also fell in love with her despite the fact that the two had been already married. The king put her in his harem so Oroonoko could not fuck her. Afterwards, the king told Oroonoko that she already died. With the help of some friends, however, Oroonoko tried to steal Imoinda but the plan went kaput. Imoinda, no longer a virgin, was sold by the king as a slave. Oroonoko tried to save her but he was caught as well. They were brought to Surinam (now called as Republic of Suriname which is an actual country in South America). Though slaves, they were together and quite happy and they even got new names: Caesar and Clemene. She got pregnant and he did not want her to remain as slave so he petitioned the king to let them go back to London. Denied, he let a slave revolt. Failed, he was persecuted. Before his persecution, Caesar (Oroonoko) first killed Clemene (Imoinda) by cutting her throat and dismemberment. If that is morbid for you, try reading how this African prince was killed: it was too gruesome. To think that this was based on actual events, you will cringe on learning how criminal African slaves were executed on those days of slavery in that part of the world.

For all the interesting bits and pieces of history, there goes my rating: strong 4 stars!

[Doria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book 3 and a half stars. I can't fault the editor, who included some useful footnotes and other bits of information, and the book itself is tidily presented in adorable, portable form, with a pleasing font, carefully maintaining Behn's sixteenth century orthography in all its quaint irregularity. But I just couldn't warm to these short, brutal stories.

The repetitive similarities became increasingly un-ignorable; there's only so much in the way of faithless females, stabbing sirrahs, non-complying nuns and friends-turned-rivals that I can stomach. Melodrama in novels is all very well, but I need more variety than this particular selection provides. As a window onto late sixteenth century literary style, it certainly is illuminating, and most likely represents Restoration fiction more than adequately. But tastes change, and not all fiction stands the test of time.

The story of Oroonoko is substantially longer than the others in the collection, and as such offers the author more room to exercise her imagination. This mini-novel is often held up as an example of Behn's supposed abolitionism, since she appears to depict African people with more humanity than was generally done by white Europeans in the sixteenth century. However, as has been pointed out by scholars, Oroonoko was not intended primarily to be a critique of the slave trade and the barbaric treatment of slaves in America, but as an allegory of the rise and fall of the ill-fated James II of England, who had frequently been given the appellation "Black James", in reference to his dark hair. Incidentally, one of the stories in this collection, The Adventure of the Black Lady, concerns a white woman who happens to have dark hair, underscoring the fact that in the sixteenth century readers read and interpreted the word "black" in different ways than we generally do.

More to the point, another story in this collection, The Unfortunate Bride, features a villain named Moorea, introduced to readers as "a Blackamoor Lady", who Behn also describes as "black in her mind, and dark, as well as in her body." After Moorea tricks a white woman, Belvira, into believing that she has seduced Belvira's fiancé, another of Behn's characters puzzles as to how or why this could have been accomplished; he asks aloud "what delight could [her white fiancé] take in a Blackamoor Lady", with the understanding that a woman of African origin could not possibly be more attractive than her white counterpart. In this context, the argument that some have put forth - that the writing of Oroonoko proves that Behn held sympathetic views regarding racial equality - falls rather flat.

Oroonoko is a thinly veiled critique of James' rule, with encoded descriptions of his character failings and even his relationship with his wife, all of which eventually contributed to his losing the throne of England in ignominious fashion towards the end of Aphra Behn's life. It includes a great deal of tragedy, star-crossed love and gruesome violence, all of which would likely have held great appeal for Behn's audience. Most likely none of these readers had much in the way of sympathy for the plight of African slaves, any more than Aphra Behn did herself.

[P.E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of the African prince Ooronoko who pines for Imoinda, the daughter of a general from the same African kingdom. Sadly, Ooronoko's father is enamored with Imoinda too, and hearing about his son's infatuation, the king sells Imoinda as a slave, as Ooronoko is treacherously captured and shipped to Suriname.

Now a slave, he finds back Imoinda, also a slave in the then-English colony. Ooronoko's next move is a plot to overthrow the colonial administration and ultimately murder the deputy-governor.

In due course, the couple is hunted down and Ooronoko offers to kill Imoinda rather than expose her to grim retribution. He is arrested, prevented from killing himself, and properly tortured and executed by the Dutch powers that be, masters over Suriname.



Written in 1688, it is no wonder this story looks garish and overly emotional nowadays.
Yet, considered as the first English novel from a woman, it is no wonder Ooronoko stands out as a giant landmark in English literature.


Matching Soundtrack :
Il dolce suono ~ voicing by Maria Callas - Gaetano Donizetti

[Thomas Brassington · Rating 2 out of 5]

...... okay........

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an edition that includes a variety of works by Aphra Behn, both prose and poetry. Prose-wise, I mainly enjoyed Oroonoko and The History of the Nun, and the concept of the latter's plot was surprisingly similar to some current best-sellers (though it would be a spoiler to give it away). The poetry I didn't particularly click with, though - there were a lot of odes to historical figures, which isn't really my vibe. I did read it to the dog I was dog-sitting, however, and he was having a great time with the poetry.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mario García · Rating 3 out of 5]

no lo sé, literatura colonial de la época supongo

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oroonoko - 3*
All the 'Other Writings' - 2*
Poems - 4*

[Olga Tsygankova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Уоу. Это просто жесть от начала и до конца. Нет, конец это апогей жести. Если вы любите насилие, много насилия - читайте. А так не знаю. Но говорят, классик Ресторейшен пис.

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Det er definitivt ikke den beste boka jeg har lest. Synes fortelleren var veldig slitsom og overdramatisk.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oroonoko: 3/5 Interesting I suppose but it's a shame she's known for this and The Rover when she did so much better.

The Fair Jilt: 4/5 Miranda is unhinged and I'm here for (most) of it. Interesting twist on female action and agency for Behn.

Memoirs of the Court of the King of Bantam: 5/5 This one very much slayed, a short and fun jaunt into 17th century Christmas traditions. Takes a really different approach than most of Behn's work, and by that I mean just straight up the plot is wildly different and a bit unpredictable. Kind of iconic that she finishes it with "The rest I have forgot" maybe I should try that on a paper and see if my professors go for it. Also peak 17th century names I love Mr Wou'dbe King and his son Hayoumorecake Bantam. And Lucy is kind of a legend milk Wou'dbe for all he's worth girl! Wou'dbe spends the entire story ignoring the fact that he has a wife and thirsting after women which I can't say I've seen before in Behn's work. But it's okay because literally everyone in the plot is conspiring against him.

The History of the Nun: 4/5 Iconic. This woman's plots follow what I can only describe as an exponential graph. You're always guaranteed a thrilling ending with many deaths.

The Adventure of the Black Lady: 4/5 Much to do with betrayal and community and women in this but it remains infamous as the one where the landlady shows the power-hungry townspeople her black cat who just kittened when they were looking for the unwed pregnant lady.

The Unfortunate Bride: 3/5 Classic marry my dead lover's cousin move.

Poetry: 2/5 I'm generally not a huge poetry fan but some standouts were "To the Fair Clarinda" and "On a Juniper Tree".

[Kay Iscah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories themselves are very much melodrama of a variety I strongly dislike, people in bad situations making them worse with extremely bad decisions.

Oroonoko itself comes from that weird class where it's hard to decide if the work is more racist or anti-racist (it was probably anti-racist in comparison with general attitudes of it's time, but really racist by current standards). But it's interesting as a snapshot of its time period and the moral wrestling going on with the slave trade as well as the somewhat complex relationships that Europeans who weren't slave owners themselves but adjacent to those who were had with the trade and the slaves as individuals, and it does get points for a human and sympathetic portrayal of slaves and a slave revolt/walk off.

Aphra Behn's plays may be better, and in her defense, at the back of the book you learn some of these stories were published after her death...which often means the author was not finished polishing them.

This collection is interesting for it's historical context (and I do like the addition information included in the back, though I wish it was done in footnotes as you read), but as that's its main selling point, it strikes me as a weird little book. Why these stories? I have a feeling you could collect her entire works or at least entire short stories in a volume or two of very readable size, so why just these? The reasoning isn't very clear. Was it someone's idea of a "best of" collection? Was the bad decisions in bad situations an intentional theme? Just why?

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing.

That this could be written by a white woman writer in 1688 is almost beyond belief. Such a clear and sympathetic portrayal of a truly heroic figure while at the same time clearly exposing the white slave trade as immoral and the slavers, right up to the king they claim to serve, as hypocritical villains.

Do not judge this novel by any acquired twenty-first century standpoint. Just marvel at the power and bravery of Aphra Behn and just how far ahead of her time she was as a moralist and thinker. If you must view it through a twentieth century lens try to show some awareness of how much that lens was ground by this woman. Her greatness has not yet been fully recognised. And then consider the importance of this work to the development of eighteenth century literature and the rise of the novel.

The work is a masterpiece in itself but its true importance lies in the role it played in shaping ideas for centuries afterwards.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was cleverly written. The story of Oroonoko is tragic and leaves you with a hole in your heart. He deserved better treatment and you cannot help but feel for the female character of Imoinda, who not only had a life run by male dominance, but had a tragic end to both her and her unborn child. One positive thing about this work, is that it was easy to read and I got through the story in a few days. It stuck to the plot and kept you on your toes. My only criticism is the unsatisfying ending, although it makes sense, as we as readers experience the struggle and injustice just like the royal slave and his wife. So for that, it did its job. Behn successfully built the narrative and I enjoyed the contrast of having a female narrator to rebel against the traditional male-dominance of the era. It certainly got me to an emotional level and attached to the characters.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two african slaves commit a ritualistic suicide to spite their owner. A woman persuades her lovers to kill so that she may increase her station. A nun is inflamed by the desire; and, by a narrative flick of the wrist, turns to murder as well. If any of these stories sound like something which might have hit the shelves of your bookstore in the last five years, you'd be wrong. ALL of these tales are about 350 years old! Moreover, they were all written by the first English woman to make a career from writing.

The best story in this volume is "The Fair Jilt." Other stories too often drag out or lack interest, but everything in "The Fair Jilt" works splendidly. The characters are still too lightly shaded, and certain behaviors are illogical and less-than-human, but boy does Behn draft a fun plot.

This volume also includes a selection of Behn's poetry, with which I was already partially familiar from the Norton Poetry Anthology. I had higher expectations, alas. I really liked a couple poems, but a lot of the time, Behn has tremendous difficulty following her meter and crafting a stable rhyme. In "To Alexis in Answer to His Poem Against Fruition. Ode," Behn describes this phenomenon to which I find her own poetry having fallen prey:

"[S]ongs that please (though bad) when new, / But learned by heart neglected grew."

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up ridiculously cheap at Ollie's once. I was reading a book that mentioned Aphra Behn and I was like, Oh. I think I own that. So, be the distracted pigeon that I am, I immediately started reading this collection. Oh my gods, do I love Aphra Behn. I am a tiny bit obsessed. My friend sent me two short stories of hers that I cannot wait to read. I just need more of this woman's writing in my life.

[Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interested book not just due to its story but the narrative viewpoint relating the story. Presents the English, middle class view of slavery at the time whilst mingling several contextual ideas of kingship, sexuality and colonialist corruption. The story of Oroonoko is an important one, however I think a better quality story would be the one actually told from his perspective which (for several reason) was not possible.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Oroonoko very much, despite this deeply tragic story. Despite being written in 1688, I found this to be very readable. This is a fictional account of an African Prince being taken into slavery, shipped and sold in the country of Suriname. Although it is fictional, I have read another book about this area, and found the plantation accounts to be similar.

[Insomniayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imprescindible leer a la primera autora (mujer) profesional de la Historia. Se me hicieron parecidos los relatos, pero me han gustado, aunque recomiendo dosificar, y leer las historias poco a poco, con algo entre medias.

[George Fowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read the short novel of Oroonoko itself and not the poetry etc

[Annso · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read Oronooko (and did not really enjoy it).

[Saskia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interestingly awful but I only read "Oroonoko" for class so cannot say anything about the other texts that are included in the volume.

[ronny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Oronooko" is essential.

[Raul Flores Zambrano · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8*
TOP DE RELATOS:
- Historia de la monja, 5/5
- La hermosa casquivana, 4.5/5
- Una equivocación providencial, 4/5
- El Príncipe Oroonoko, 4/5
- La doncella muda, 4/5

[Nikita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bleh

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange ending, overall a thought provoking piece on the contemporary beliefs about slavery. Challenging and upsetting at times, but I'd say worth a read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-4

[lara]

back at uni :')