Oroonoko - Paperback

by Aphra Behn (Author), Tiffany Potter (Editor)

The best-known work by Aphra Behn, Oroonoko is an important contribution to the development of the novel in English. Though it predates the British abolition movement by more than a century, it is also an early depiction of the dehumanizing racial violence of slavery; Oroonoko tells of a noble African prince enslaved and taken to Surinam, where he leads a violent revolt of the enslaved. This edition offers helpful annotations, an informative introduction, and contextual materials situating Oroonoko in the context of seventeenth-century slavery and the colonization of Surinam. The early reception of Oroonoko is also documented.

Back Jacket

The best-known work by Aphra Behn, Oroonoko is an important contribution to the development of the novel in English. Though it predates the British abolition movement by more than a century, it is also an early depiction of the dehumanizing racial violence of slavery; Oroonoko tells of a noble African prince enslaved and taken to Surinam, where he leads a violent revolt of the enslaved. This edition offers helpful annotations, an informative introduction, and contextual materials situating Oroonoko in the context of seventeenth-century slavery and the colonization of Surinam. The early reception of Oroonoko is also documented.

Author Biography

Tiffany Potter is Professor of Teaching and Associate Head of Curriculum and Planning at the University of British Columbia.