I read her novel “The Blazing World” early last year as part of a Elle Griffin’s project to read Utopian novels. It was startlingly modern, funny, and enjoyable. I’ve read other things from that period they can be difficult or dull. I would have guessed she was a contemporary of Verne or Wells (or Poe) rather than Newton and Pepys. I liked it better than Utopia (it’s funnier).
I envy you that you enjoyed reading it. I read it in 2020 after the book popped up somewhere (perhaps HackerNews) as the 1st Science Fiction novel by a woman. As a “Science Fiction written in the 17th century,” I found it a bit hard to read with satisfaction. I read it for gratification that I read the “the first-ever” origin of science fiction stories.
In what could be seen as an interesting contrast to the article, Wikipedia offers the following perspective: "[Cavendish] notes that ... amongst strangers she became bashful, being afraid she might speak or act inappropriately ... while anxious to be well-received and well-liked. She spoke only when necessary [rather than] be seen as wanton or rude."
And: "The epitaph reads: 'Her name was Margaret Lucas, youngest daughter of Lord Lucas, Earl of Colchester, a noble family: for all the brothers were valiant, and all the sisters virtuous.'"
> A correction was made on Jan. 3, 2024: A picture with an earlier version of this review was published in error. The image should have shown Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, not Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, the Duchess of Portland.
