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Hello, my ambition, she once wrote, is not only to be Empress, but authorists of a whole world.

An intriguing quote, but the multifaceted 17th century writer Margaret Cavendish was an intriguing woman.

Born in 1623 to an aristocratic family, she became a passionate writer taking on subjects

like gender and science and philosophy, brazenly publishing under her own name

at a time when women rarely did so. Her pioneering proto novel, The Blasing World, published in 1666, has been called one of the earliest works of science fiction.

A passionate writer and a passionate person, complex, controversial and courageous.

We talked to Francesca Peacock, biographer of Margaret Cavendish, today on the History of Literature.

Hello everyone, happy January Day,

MLK Day here in the States, for those of you who are here in the States, I guess,

I guess you could celebrate MLK Day anywhere. I'm Jack Wilson, thanks for checking us out today.

It's a good day here at the History of Literature podcast.

Margaret Cavendish is up first and then how about we visit with Patrick Wittmarsh?

Who is here to discuss Anthropocene Fiction and Vertical Science back a year or so ago.

We'll have a cameo appearance.

Some thematic ties here.

But first, Margaret Cavendish.

This woman was a kind of literary superstar,

a London legend, the 17th century literary equivalent of the Beatles and

Beatle-Mania chased by 100 boys and girls running looking upon her.

The diarist Samuel Peeps once wrote,

The whole story of this lady is a romance and all she do is romantic.

...