I have a hazy recollection of a brief visit to Canterbury’s  The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge many decades ago on one of my first trips to England, but I was intrigued by a story about its current special exhibition. A rare first edition 1688 copy of Aphra Behn’s novel Oroonoko has gone on display Its inclusion in the exhibition came after the book’s owner, Anna Astin, brought in a copy of the rare book to be evaluated by the museum. She has owned the book for more than 50 years after finding it in her father’s London antique shop.

Only 13 copies of the seminal novella are known to exist and all of these are housed in libraries and universities in the UK and America, including the British Library, Oxford University and Yale University Library.

Oroonoko is a novel about the sufferings of an enslaved African prince in 17th century Surinam.  In recent years, the groundbreaking book has been recognized as an important inspiration for the British abolitionist movement. It is also considered one of the first novels written in the English language by a professional woman author.

Aphra Behn was an extraordinary character. Born into a working class family in Canterbury, She rose to prominence as a playwright, poet, translator, and even a spy for the British crown on the Continent. Sadly, she died just months after the blockbuster book’s publication.