Aphra Behn Statue
Over the past 4-5 years the society’s principal campaign has been raising a statue to the shamefully neglected Aphra Behn (1640-1689), Britain’s first female professional writer. Smash-hit playwright, poet and spy, she was sufficiently celebrated in her day to be buried in Westminster Abbey, but the city where she grew up does not even have a street named after her! We are setting this straight.
Watch the short BBC video below to find out more about why she is so important:
After an international competition and showing the maquettes of our four shortlisted designs around the country, we commissioned the celebrated British artist Christine Charlesworth to create a bronze lifesize+ statue of the 17-year-old Aphra, the age at which she left Canterbury for London. The piece will stand outside the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge in the High Street and we are delighted that it will be unveiled on 25 February 2025 by a very distinguished patron of literacy and reading. Due to unexpected additional costs, however, our Aphra fund is still short by a couple of thousand pounds: we would dearly welcome any donation you are able to make! Thank you.
More about Aphra Behn:
The link takes you to A is for Aphra, a fantastic website full of Behn facts, free educational resources and other information.