Skip to Main Content

Aphra Behn's Afterlife

Online ISBN:
9780191674402
Print ISBN:
9780198184942
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Aphra Behn's Afterlife

Jane Spencer
Jane Spencer

Senior Lecturer in English Literature

University of Exeter
Find on
Published online:
3 October 2011
Published in print:
23 November 2000
Online ISBN:
9780191674402
Print ISBN:
9780198184942
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Aphra Behn, now becoming recognized as a major Restoration figure, is especially significant as an early example of a successful professional woman writer: an important and often troubling role-model for later generations of women. This book shows that her influence on 18th-century literature was far-reaching. Because literary history was (and to an extent still is) based on notions of patrilineal succession, it has been difficult to recognize the generative work of women's texts among male writers. This book suggests that Behn had 'sons' as well as ‘daughters’ and argues that we need a feminist revision of the notion of literary influence. Behn's reputation was very different in different genres. The book analyses her reception as a poet, a novelist, and a dramatist, showing how reactions to her became an important part of the creation of the English literary canon.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close