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It is uncertain whether Aphra was born into a poor family or not, but the portrait paintings of her that exist may mean she had access to money at some point. 

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It is not for certain where Aphra Behn was born, though it is estimated she was born in 1640 in Canterbury, Kent, Wye, or Surrey.

Her childhood is also a mystery. Some sources state that she was the daughter of a barber, while others claim her to be affiliated with the aristocratic people and lifestyle. Based on her education, the latter is more likely.

It is known that, when Behn was a teenager, her father was given work which led them to Surinam. Her father died at sea, but she and her family stayed in Surinam.

It is said that Surinam was where she found inspiration for her novel Oroonoko.

It was in Surinam that Behn travelled across seas, fell in love, started writing, and learned of slavery.

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Behn often included scenes or wrote poems about women being assaulted and raped. Their fear and hopelessness helped the audience sympathize with feminist ideals

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Oroonoko
Published 1688
An African prince and his love are enslaved. They lead a rebellion against the slave owner, but Oroonoko, the prince, kills his pregnant wife in order to spare her the inevitable torture, and he is slowly dismembered. Aphra Behn wrote this with the intention to bring the horrors of slavery to light.
To My Fair...
"The Disappointment"
Published in 1680 under someone else's name
This satiric poem depicts the rape of a girl named Cloris, whose attacker (Lisander) experiences impotency, allowing Cloris to get away.
The Rover
Published in two parts in 1677 and 1681
A group of English caveliers and a group of women from different walks of life are entangled in a web of love and betrayal. Behn highlights the struggle of arranged marriage and the terror that comes with sexual assault.
"The Willing Mistress"
Published 1697
This poem emphasizes the love felt between a couple as they partake in a risky affair. Because this affair is consensual, it takes on a serene and loving tone, as opposed to other love-making scenes which are experienced with fear and anxiety.
The Forc'd Marriage
Published 1671
The daughter of a general is forced into a marriage with a warrior she does not love. She loves the prince, and the prince's sister loves the warrior. Some friends of the prince and the general betray them in order to win the hearts of the daughters, and some friends help the characters overcome misunderstandings and resentments.
The Feigned Courtesans
Published 1679
A pair of women disguise themselves as courtesans to escape arranged marriage and to pursue the ones they love. Misunderstandings and different values create obstacles on the journey to finding their happily ever after.
Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister
Published as three separate volumes in 1684, 1685, and 1687
An innocent and naive Sylvia explores her desires after she has an affair with her brother-in-law and falls in love with him. This was an extremely taboo topic and was seen as incest to have an affair with the sister or brother of your husband or wife, which made this work so scandalous for its time.
The City Heiress
Published 1682
A knight and his nephew both try to earn the love of the city heiress. Charlot, the city heiress, decides to marry Treat-all, the knight. The nephew, Wilder, tricks his uncle and exposes him. He ends up marrying Charlot, blackmailing Treat-all into handing over his possessions.

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Dickson, Vernon Guy. “Truth, Wonder, and Exemplarity in Aphra Behn’s ‘Oroonoko’.” JSTOR,

vol. 47, no. 3, Rice University, 2007, pp. 573-594 (22 pages),

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.losrios.edu/stable/4625127?seq=1. Accessed 31 March 2022.

Dickson's analysis helped me to understand the progressive nature of Oroonoko. Behn was able to humanize Africans a little more in Europeans' eyes, who had created a primitive savage in their imaginations.

Lowe, Leah. “Gender and (im)mortality in restoration comedy: Aphra Behn’s The Feigned Courtesans.” Theatre Symposium, vol. 15, The University of Alabama Press, 2007,

https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.losrios.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=3&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=2&docId=GALE%7CA206866527&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZLRC-MOD1&prodId=LitRC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA206866527&searchId=R5&userGroupName=sacr73031&inPS=true. Accessed 31 March 2022.

This scholarly journal focused on the way Behn's plays walked a fine line between catering to the audience's views on gender, as well as introducing new ideas which went against the believed roles of women.

Mallipeddi, Ramesh. “Spectacle, Spectatorship, and Sympathy in Aphra Behn’s ‘Oroonoko’.” JSTOR, vol. 45, no. 4, The Johns Hopkins University, 2012, pp. 475-496 (22 pages), https://www-jstor org.ezproxy.losrios.edu/stable/23271616?sid=primo&seq=1. Accessed 31 March 2022.

Mallipeddi's journal emphasized and explained the problematic fetishization and dehumanization of Africans in Oroonoko.

Mitsein, Rebekah. “Trans-Saharan worlds and world views in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko.” EBSCOhost, vol. 30, no. 3, McMaster University, 2018, pp. 339-368,

https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.losrios.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=515e27b0-40cb-4aeb-9b2e-2267f9b1cb06%40redis. Accessed 31 March 2022.

I learned through this analysis how Behn's attempt to humanize Africans by placing them in high ranking positions may have very well further devalued Africans who were not high-ranking.

Young, Elizabeth V. “De-gendering genre: Aphra Behn and the tradition of English verse satire.” Philological Quarterly, vol. 81, no. 2, University of Iowa, 2002, https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.losrios.edu/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&u=sacr73031&id=GALE%7CA119782667&v=2.1&it=r. Accessed 31 March 2022.

Young describes the way Aphra Behn's use of satire broke stereotypes and offered her a method to demonstrate her wit and intelligence in a comedic and entertaining way.

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Aphra Behn wrote numerous pieces considered scandalous or even taboo. One of her most taboo works was about two lesbians and their forbidden love. 

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Betrayal: The theme of betrayal wasn't just prevalent in Behn's literature; it carried relevancy in Restoration Era politics. During that time, Royalists felt outraged and betrayed at the replacement of King James II for the throne. Oroonoko was a story which warned of tragedy when rightful kingship is taken away.
Lust and Passion: The theme of lust is consistently portrayed through the women in Behn's stories. Women then were not believed to have had sexual desires, and talking about them was taboo. Behn's major theme of lust was just one of her ways of pushing the boundaries of patriarchal society.
Obligation/force: Many of Behn's works included obligation of the woman to face an unknown or unpredictable situation. In stories such as Oroonoko, The Feigned Courtesans, The Disappointment, The Rover, and The Forc'd Marriage, the characters want to escape something they must do or someone they must obey, whether that be arranged marriage, rape, or even slavery.
Oppression: This ties into the themes of obligation and force, as the cause of the aforementioned themes is oppression. This is demonstrated through the nonconsensual decisions made for the female characters, and societal pressures they are trapped in, as well as the dehumanization of Africans in Oroonoko.
Forbidden love: Oroonoko's plot is based upon forbidden love, with the prince being kept away from Imoinda by the king, and Imoinda being forced to obey. The theme of forbidden love continues when they are both enslaved and she becomes pregnant. "The Willing Mistress" is a poem describing the passion that comes with forbidden love, with a pair who want one another, but one is bound maritally to another. "To the Fair Clarinda, Who Made Love to Me, Imagined More than Woman" is probably Behn's most scandelous piece based on the topic of forbidden love. It is a poem about a woman describing the love and passion she feels for another woman. Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister is a novel based on true events of a nobleman who eloped with his sister-in-law, which was at the time considered to be incest. Again, here is an example of Behn exploring the boundaries of societal norms and taboo issues.

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It could be said that Aphra Behn was the first woman in English literary history to make a living solely through her writing. She is also celebrated to have made a successful writing career as a woman.

Oroonoko is one of the first novels in English history to explore the problematic practices of colonialism and the dangerous effects of racism.

Behn contributed to the feminist movement with her political commentary on the oppression of women. Her wit and intelligence communicated through her satire broke societal norms and beliefs about women.

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Many of Aphra Behn's plays consisted of women disguising themselves  as men. The protagonists' display of masculine traits and actions were considered unseemly.

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Later racist adaptations changed the character Imoinda to be white, not black, which explains much of the artwork showing Oroonoko about to stab a white woman. 

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It is said that Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko was truth-based, or at least heavily inspired by an actual person she met in Surinam. Travelling with her family, Behn was exposed to slavery.

Behn also worked as a spy for King Charles II in 1666. However, she was not properly compensated for her work, and was imprisoned because of her debt. After, that, she turned to writing in a desperation to bring in some money.