The Scandal of the Century

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Playwright, poet, spy, a scarlet woman condemned for loose morals . . . meet Aphra Behn, history's most fascinating female There are few labels not attached to Aphra Behn - playwright, poet, a spy, a scarlet woman condemned for loose morals. And yet, for all her notoriety Aphra Behn is an enigma. Born in around 1640, her early life isn't well recorded and facts about her are continually disputed. Her birth name may have been Eaffrey Johnson and she could have been the daughter of a Canterbury barber, although neither fact is certain. And, just after the Restoration she probably briefly lived in the English colony of Surinam in South America, where she was perhaps embroiled in political espionage. Whatever the truth, Behn was in London by 1664 and six years later was writing for the stage. For a decade, Behn's work dominated the London stage. Then, suddenly in 1682, she was charged with libel. Her plays could not be produced and by the time of the trial of the century Behn was broke. She decided that writing would be her way out and began to write a novel based on the most notorious adultress of a notoriously adulterous age - Lady Henrietta Berkeley.

Author Bio

Lisa Hilton is a best-selling author, historian, presenter and historical consultant. Taking inspiration from the lives of women who shaped the world, she has written six historical biographies including Athenais- The Real Queen of France (shortlisted for the Somerset Maugham Prize) and the critically-acclaimed Elizabeth, Renaissance Prince. She has presented numerous historical series, including 'Charles I- Downfall' (BBC4, 2019) and 'Charles I- Killing a King' (BBC4, 2020). Lisa grew up in the north of England and read English at New College, Oxford, after which she studied History of Art in Florence and Paris. Since then, Lisa has lived in New York, Paris, Milan and London.