BEHN (Aphra). - Lot 2

BEHN (Aphra). Oronoko, translated from the English by Madame Behn. Amsterdam: Published by the Company, 1745. — 2 parts in one in-16 volume, 144 x 88: (1 f.), xv, 104 pp.; (2 ff.), 168 pp. Marbled calfskin, decorated ribbed spine, red edges (contemporary binding). First edition of the initial French translation by Pierre-Antoine de La Place (1707–1793) of this major novel in the history of literature. First published in 1688, *Oronoko* is considered one of the first modern English novels but, above all, one of the first works of Western fiction to address the slave trade and slavery, denouncing the cruelty of this system well ahead of its time. In a blend of colonial realism and romantic tragedy, the author tells the story of Oronoko, an African prince, who falls in love with Imoinda, the daughter of his grandfather’s favorite general. But the king, who is in love with the young woman, demands that she become his wife. Refusing this forced marriage, Imoinda chooses to risk death. In retaliation, the king has her sold into slavery in Suriname, thus setting the tragedy in motion. Aphra Behn (1640–1689), a pioneering figure in English literature, is recognized as one of the first women to earn a living as a writer in Great Britain. A native of the Canterbury area, she spent time in Suriname, an English colony dedicated to sugarcane cultivation—an experience that profoundly inspired her novel *Oronoko*, her most famous work. Upon its release in 1688, the book went largely unnoticed. It wasn’t until 1696 that it was reprinted, and it was only after Aphra Behn’s death that the novel found its audience. The real turning point came in 1695 with Thomas Southerne’s stage adaptation of the novel, which turned it into a successful melodrama but introduced two major changes: Imoinda becomes white (whereas she is Black in the novel), and the emphasis is placed on tragic scenes, such as Oronoko’s murder of Imoinda. It is this version that would dominate the 18th and 19th centuries. In France, the novel was first translated in 1745 by Pierre-Antoine de La Place, who followed Southerne’s choices, portraying Imoinda as white. The book, reprinted seven times before 1800 (sometimes illustrated with erotic engravings), would become one of the best-selling English adaptations in France. A fine example of a period binding, very well preserved despite two small wormholes on a hinge and two slightly worn corners.