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Description
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 first 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 regarded as one of the first modern English novels, but above all as one of the earliest 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 favourite general. But the king, who is in love with the young woman, demands that she become his wife. Refusing this forced marriage, Imoinda chooses instead 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 recognised as one of the first women to earn a living from her writing in Britain. Originally from the Canterbury area, she spent time in Suriname, an English colony dedicated to the cultivation of sugar cane, an experience that profoundly inspired her novel *Oronoko*, her most famous work.
Upon its publication in 1688, the book went largely unnoticed. It was not until 1696 that a new edition was published, 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 the 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), went on to become one of the best-selling English adaptations in France.
A fine example of a contemporary binding, very well preserved despite two small wormholes on one hinge and two slightly worn corners.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
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