Oroonoko dealt with themes of forced transportation and the relationship between Europeans and Indigenous populations. Slavery wasn't abolished in Britain until 1833, nearly 150 years after the novel was written.īut the novel's wider critique of colonisation is still relevant. 'I think abolitionists seized on it as a rallying point or a way for people to empathise.' 'You do find people mentioning Oroonoko, saying 'it touched my heart'. they had morals and traditions, and they were honourable and heroic,' Ms Clarke said. 'It asked people to empathise with slaves. ( Supplied: National Library of Australia) Pages from the book had to be reattached to the spine before going on display. Its hero chose death to escape life as a slave after also killing his wife.Įven though it preceded the abolitionist movement by about 100 years, it made an impact. The story was written from the first-person perspective of an African prince sold into slavery. It was published a year before Behn's death and helped define the modern novel.Ī few years later it was adapted into a play, which brought it to popular attention in Britain and America. Oroonoko was the summation of a career spent experimenting with form. 'She was really successful, but all the male critics of her time criticised her for being unwomanly and immodest because her plays were maybe a bit risqué, as plays were at that time.'

'He neglected to pay her so she ended up in a debtors' prison and she ended up writing plays to make money. 'She worked as a spy for Charles II and was in Holland spying on the Dutch,' Ms Clarke said. ( ABC Canberra: Michael Black)Įxhibition curator Rosalind Clarke said Behn broke down many barriers through her life and work. Oroonoko is personally significant for Rosalind Clarke who studied it at university.

Oroonoko book