The Works of Aphra Behn (Complete)

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Works of Aphra Behn (Complete) by Aphra Behn, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Aphra Behn ISBN: 9781465603135
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Aphra Behn
ISBN: 9781465603135
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
It is perhaps not altogether easy to appreciate the multiplicity of difficulties with which the first editor of Mrs. Behn has to cope. Not only is her life strangely mysterious and obscure, but the rubbish of half-a-dozen romancing biographers must needs be cleared away before we can even begin to see daylight. Matter which had been for two centuries accepted on seemingly the soundest authority is proven false; her family name itself was, until my recent discovery, wrongly given; the very question of her portrait has its own vexed (and until now unrecognized) dilemmas. In fine there seems no point connected with our first professional authoress which did not call for the nicest investigation and the most incontrovertible proof before it could be accepted without suspicion or reserve. The various collections of her plays and novels which appeared in the first half of the eighteenth century give us nothing; nay, they rather cumber our path with the trash of discredited Memoirs. Pearson's reprint (1871) is entirely valueless: there is no attempt, however meagre, at editing, no effort to elucidate a single allusion; moreover, several of the Novels— and the Poems in their entirety— are lacking. I am happy to give (Vol. V) one of the Novels, and that not the least important, The History of the Nun, for the first time in any collected edition. Poems, in addition to those which appeared in Mrs. Behn's lifetime, and were never reprinted after, have been gathered with great care from many sources (of which some were almost forgotten).
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
It is perhaps not altogether easy to appreciate the multiplicity of difficulties with which the first editor of Mrs. Behn has to cope. Not only is her life strangely mysterious and obscure, but the rubbish of half-a-dozen romancing biographers must needs be cleared away before we can even begin to see daylight. Matter which had been for two centuries accepted on seemingly the soundest authority is proven false; her family name itself was, until my recent discovery, wrongly given; the very question of her portrait has its own vexed (and until now unrecognized) dilemmas. In fine there seems no point connected with our first professional authoress which did not call for the nicest investigation and the most incontrovertible proof before it could be accepted without suspicion or reserve. The various collections of her plays and novels which appeared in the first half of the eighteenth century give us nothing; nay, they rather cumber our path with the trash of discredited Memoirs. Pearson's reprint (1871) is entirely valueless: there is no attempt, however meagre, at editing, no effort to elucidate a single allusion; moreover, several of the Novels— and the Poems in their entirety— are lacking. I am happy to give (Vol. V) one of the Novels, and that not the least important, The History of the Nun, for the first time in any collected edition. Poems, in addition to those which appeared in Mrs. Behn's lifetime, and were never reprinted after, have been gathered with great care from many sources (of which some were almost forgotten).

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book The Locked Drawer Mystery by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Sherlock Holmes: The Redheaded League by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book A Book of Irish Verse Selected From Modern Writers With an introduction and Notes by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Earths in Our Solar System Which are Called Planets and Earths in The Starry Heaven Their inhabitants and The Spirits and Angels There by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book The Freedmen's Book by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Nabul: Our Little Egyptian Cousin by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Starr King in California by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book The Robber: A Tale by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Personally Conducted: A Cricket Story by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book A Literary History of the English People from the Origins to the Renaissance by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book Traces of a Hidden Tradition in Masonry and Medieval Mysticism by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book We Met the Space People by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book The Field Book: Sports and Pastimes of the United Kingdom Compiled from the Best Authorities Ancient and Modern by Aphra Behn
Cover of the book The Science of Fairy Tales: An Inquiry into Fairy Mythology by Aphra Behn
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy