The Rover

The Rover is the most popular play by the first female professional writer in England, Aphra Behn. Set in Italy during the chaotic misrule of carnival time, the play explores issues of love, deception and the excesses of sexual passion.

Aphra Behn was the first female professional writer in England, and The Rover, her most popular play, is set in Naples during the misrule of carnival time. The Rover explores issues of love, trickery and deception, forced marriage, male power, fidelity, and the excesses of sexual passion.

Carnival time in The Rover is a period when prohibitions are temporarily removed, privileges and rank suspended, and women - from convent girls to courtesans - take the initiative. Featuring multiple plot lines, which deal with the adventures of a group of love-struck Englishmen in Naples, Aphra Behn's play explores issues of love, trickery and deception, forced marriage, male power, fidelity, and the excesses of sexual passion. Hers is a male-dominated society, but one with a clear-sighted portrayal of the female predicament.

The play is widely taught on A Level courses as well as on undergraduate literature and women's writing courses. This new edition contains a completely new introduction, and takes into account important criticism from the past decade, as well as a new understanding of the nature of theatre in Behn's time, and the significance of her contribution to English drama.