English Literature

Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave tells the haunting story of an African prince betrayed into slavery, whose courage, love, and unbreakable sense of honor expose the brutal hypocrisy of so called “civilized” European colonizers. Set between West Africa and the lush yet deadly plantations of Surinam, the narrative follows Oroonoko and his beloved Imoinda as they are torn from royal privilege and forced into a system that tries—but ultimately fails—to crush their dignity. Blending eyewitness reportage with tragic romance, the guide shows how Oroonoko became one of the earliest English works to question slavery and empire, while also inviting modern readers to wrestle with its powerful insights and troubling racial biases.