The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume VI

Aphra Behn wrote like someone who had nothing to lose and everything to prove. As one of the first English women to publish fiction under her own name, she brought a ferocity and wit to romance that shocked her 17th-century readers and has delighted generations since. This volume gathers some of her most playful works, including 'The Lover's Watch,' a dazzling conceit in which the beloved Iris sends her separated lover Damon a timepiece that doesn't merely mark the hours but dictates them: each hour comes with instructions for how he should think, act, and yearn in her absence. The watch becomes a meditation on desire, patience, and the torture of loving at a distance. Rounding out the collection are 'A Voyage to the Isle of Love' and a sequence of poems that pulse with the same reckless sensuality. Behn's lovers don't sigh politely; they burn. For anyone who thinks romance lacks brains, or wit lacks heart, Behn remains the rebuttal.