BONUS Margaret Cavendish Blazes Through the World Part 2

History's Heroes

BBC

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 824 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

Alex von Tunzelmann meets Professor Keith Allen to discuss Margaret Cavendish’s remarkable legacy. Keith, who is professor of philosophy at the University of York, has been researching Margaret Cavendish and neurodiversity. He argues that Cavendish may have had one or more forms of neurodivergence, based on the descriptions she herself gave of her life and experience.

Cavendish clung to the hope of future fame. She knew that her work was misunderstood within her own time. Lady Dorothy Osborne remarked that there are "soberer people in Bedlam” - the psychiatric hospital. Centuries later, she was still being misunderstood. Virginia Woolf claimed that Cavendish was like “a giant cucumber,” choking the roses and carnations in an otherwise orderly garden of 17th century literature. Are these accusations fair?

Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.

A BBC Studios Audio production.

Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts 7Status:

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	An early start here. It's time to kick off.
0:10.0	Your day. Morning!
0:11.9	What a line-up.
0:13.3	Oh, thanks very much. We do get some great guests on the show.
0:16.1	The crowd is loving this.
0:18.3	Thanks, guys. Thank you. Too kind.
0:20.2	From morning chaos to match day commentary.
0:23.6	And everything in between.
0:25.0	BBC sounds packed with personality.
0:30.7	I'm Alex von Tunselman and for BBC Radio 4, this is History's Heroes.
0:36.4	People with purpose, brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Last time on history's heroes, we went all the way back to the 1600s to the story of Margaret Cavendish.
1:12.9	During the English Civil War, she ran away to France with the Royal Court and married into the
1:17.8	aristocratic Cavendish family, known for their love of science. She shocked society with her
1:24.2	outrageous, often homemade fashions and fiercely challenged the men around her.
1:30.7	She was part of the upper classes, but she tried to use her experiences and her position to
1:36.5	improve the world around her as best she could. Cavendish was a writer, and the words of her
1:42.1	poetry, plays and novels shone alight on women's experiences.
1:46.8	Very unusually, she also wrote under her own name. In 1666, her most famous work was published,
1:53.9	The Blazing World. It's sometimes credited as the first work of science fiction. Now, if you're
1:59.7	joining for this episode and you haven't heard our previous one,
2:02.3	I do recommend you go back and take a listen to that first.
	...

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