Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was an English playwright, poet, translator, and fiction writer from the Restoration era. Oroonoko (1688) is a unique early example of the novel genre. It employs a first-person narrative from a female perspective and addresses some of the controversial political, economic, and social issues of the time.

The injustices of the slave trade are exposed through the author’s graphic account of the cruel realities of life in the English colonies. The narrative deals with Oroonoko, an African prince who is captured, enslaved, and transported from West Africa to the English colony of Surinam in South America.