Aphra Behn, 1640-1689

The 29 articles in this volume were papers given during the International Conference held at the Sorbonne on July 8.9 and 10 1999. Some of the greatest names in the field of Women's Studies and, more particularly, of Aphra Behn's works, brought their contributions to the event. It was Aphra Behn who opened up new paths for women, in their quest for an identity, to know themselves better by discovering the other. As the many books published in Britain and in the United States over the last years, this volume reveals the numerous facets of the writer, while stressing her ambiguity.

Aphra Behn's life still remains a puzzle with many pieces missing, particularly during her first years before her time in Surinam and in Antwerp, where she was a spy for Charles II. On coming back to London she may have been thrown into prison for debt ; she did borrow some money and decided to become a professional playwright, producing plays, some published posthumously or only attributed to her, however enough to vie with her male counterparts who saw her as a rival. She also wrote poetry, lyrical and circumstancial ; in the former she aired views that brought upon her stringent censorship lasting well into the twentieth century for her being too outspoken on female sexuality ; while praising the Stuarts in the latter, she would speak openly of her ambiguous admiration for Republicans or even Radicals in other pieces of writing. She lapsed into novel writing, looking on recent French history and events as a mirror to ward off rebellion in England. In this new genre, as in the rest of her publications, she made great use of her own experience thus becoming a "moraliste" and a "moderne" at the same time. She also turned to translation to eke out a living making French authors known in England and again drawing much on French literature for her sources of inspiration.

It was one of the first occasions when Maureen Duffy, Germaine Greer, Angeline Goreau, Derek Hughes, Joanna Lipking, Jeslyn Medoff, Mary Ann O'Donnell, Anita Pacheco, Margaret Rubik, Jane Spenser and Janet Todd found a venue to give their views and share their opinions as forerunners in the area. They are now followed by many among whom some have contributed to this volume.

The wide range of Aphra Behn's writings as well their variety make them of interest not only for literary specialists of the period but also for historians, comparatists and a more general public.

The bibliographies and the index will be of invaluable assistance to scholars. The aim of the volume is to give a new start to research into the writings of the first English woman who made a living with her pen and who has remained forgotten on the European continent for too long.