Playwright, Poet, Spy

In September 2022 I was selected from the four shortlisted artists to create a public statue of Aphra Behn outside the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, in the centre of Canterbury.

I chose to depict Aphra at the age she was when she left Canterbury. As this was before her great achievements there are many clues about her future life all around her figure. She was the first English woman to earn her living by her pen and she always had the means to write with her. She was also a spy for the King. During the restoration period she had more plays staged than any other playwright. She published poetry and prose work, including her important book, Oroonoko. She was a bold, confident, multi-talented woman and an early champion of women’s rights.