Aphra Behn's Oroonoko is one of the earliest examples of the novel genre. Originally published in 1688, this novel employs the first person narritve voice from a female perspective while also working to examine some of the most controversial issues of the 17th  century. Through Behn's account of the realities of life in the English colonies in North America, she exposes the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. This novel also is credited with the begining of the "noble savage" trope. While in the present day this theme is now understood to be a deeply racist view point, in the later part of the 18th centry it was recognized as being a literary concept which lent to  for the abolition of slavery. 

“Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, 1688.” The British Library, The British Library, 5 Dec. 2017, www.bl.uk/collection-items/aphra-behns-oroonoko-1688