She was not the first woman writer; neither was she the only woman writer of her day. But Aphra Behn holds the singular distinction of being the first professional woman writer in the English language. She was the first woman writer who did it for money.

It was a natural choice for this young woman, a recent spy for the crown and a widow at the age of 26, to turn to selling herself (in a manner of speaking) in order to survive. Many other women of the period did so; but instead of novels and plays, they sold something much more fundamental and far more common. Single women, whether spinsters or widows, often allowed themselves to be kept by rich men of the commons and nobility alike. (Guffey, Wright 54) Mrs. Behn chose not to sell herself but her intelligence and work, and was berated as a whore for her efforts.

Most biographers seem to agree Ayfara, or Aphara (Aphra), Amis or Amies, the daughter of John and Amy Amis or Amies was baptized together with her brother Peter in the Parish Church of SS. Gr

"All women together ought to let flowers fall on the tomb of Aphra Behn[...], for it is she who earned them the right to speak their minds. It is she -- shady and amorous as she was -- who makes it not quite fantastic for me to say to you tonight: Earn five hundred a year by your wits."

Her debts were eventually paid by the crown and when she got out, she began to write, at first "for bread," but soon she made it clear that she was writing not only for money but for fame -- and also to fulfill what she called "my masculine part, the poet in me" -- clearly asserting her rights as an artist despite her gender. She was not interested in modesty or in timidity, and during her career tackled several genres with equal ease -- a feat certainly not matched by many male authors of the period. "She was a mere harlot who danced through uncleanness and dared [the male dramatists] to follow." -- John Doran (19th-century theatre historian) The "Punk and Poetesse," as she was soon dubbed ("punk" meaning "prostitute"), was the single most prolific and successful dramatist in Restoration England with the exception of John Dryden, the country's poet laureate. She, like Shakespeare before her, took existing bad plays with decent plots and turned them into very good plays -- unl!

egorty and Martin, Wye, July 10, 1640. (Guffey, Wright 12) Until this time Aphra's maiden name has been stated to be Johnson, and she is asserted to be the daughter of a barber, John Johnson. She acquired her education and her connections at court through a noble childhood friend for whom her mother acted as wet-nurse. She grew up during the Civil War and the interregnum and was approximately nineteen when Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660.

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It was upon her return to England at age 26 that Aphra met a Dutch merchant named Behn, and so fascinated him by her wit and beauty that he offered her his hand and fortune. During her married life she is said to have been affluent (New Brunswick 76) and even to have appeared at the gay, licentious Court, attracting the notice of and amusing the King himself by her anecdotes and cleverness of repartee; but when her husband died, probably during the plague of 1665, she found herself helpless, without friends or funds.

In her distress it was to the Court she applied for assistance; and owing to her cosmopolitan experience and still more to the fact that her name was Dutch, and that she had been by her husband brought into close contact with the Dutch, she was selected as a political agent (New Brunswick 84-86) to visit Holland and there be employed in carious secret and semi-official capacities. The circumstance that her position and work could never be openly recognized nor acknowledged by the English government was shortly to involve her in manifold difficulties, pecuniary and ot

Some common words found in the essay are:
Surinam Aphra, Aphra Behn, Unfortunately Behn, John Dryden, Guffey Wright, Virginia Woolf, , John Johnson, Punk Poetesse, John Amis, aphra behn, woman writer, shady amorous, masculine poet, behn chose, amis amies, english language, ye king, age 26, guffey wright,
Approximate Word count = 1951
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)