Aphra Behn (c.1640–89), or Astrea, was a poet, author and playwright, and is often cited as being one of the leading lights of the Restoration period. She is remembered today as being one of the first English women to earn a living with her pen, as well as for her work as a spy for Charles II. Her best-known works today are a Restoration drama, The Rover, and Oroonoko, or, The Royal Slave, a short work of fiction.
