Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn (1640?-1689), often referred to as the female Shakespeare and the first professional female writer in England, is a legendary figure in English literature. Not only did she pave the way for other female authors (such as Austen, Gaskell, Eliot, and others), but she also primarily won the right to freedom of expression for all women. Virginia Woolf acknowledges this by stating that "all women together ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds."