The Blazing World and Other Writings
1994
First Published
3.26
Average Rating
272
Number of Pages
'I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security.' One of the most diverse, prolific, and maverick intellectuals of her time, Margaret Cavendish is known for critiquing a wide range of early modern cultural and philosophical beliefs. While she was the first British woman to publish several philosophical treatises, she was also profoundly interested in literature and writing in nearly every available genre; indeed, with her wide-ranging, complex, and often unorthodox ideas, she was a pioneer of what today would be referred to as science fiction. In this edition Lisa Walters brings together well-known and popular works such as The Blazing World, alongside lesser-known poems and prose pieces, like The Ambitious Traitor and The Unnatural Tragedy. The introduction discusses the wide-ranging concepts that appear in the writings, from gender and cross-dressing, to science and the nature of the universe, and provides a fresh insight on Cavendish's proclivity for literary experimentation and innovation.
Avg Rating
3.26
Number of Ratings
1,726
5 STARS
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4 STARS
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3 STARS
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2 STARS
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1 STARS
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Author
Margaret Cavendish
Author · 13 books
Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, was the youngest child of a wealthy Essex family. At the age of 20 she became Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta Maria and traveled with her into Persian exile in 1644. There she married William Cavendish, Marquis (later Duke) of Newcastle. Between 1653 and 1668 she published many books on a wide variety of subjects, including many stories that are now regarded as some of the earliest examples of science fiction.
