Margaret Cavendish Blazes Through the World

History's Heroes

BBC

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 824 Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 17th Century Europe, a young woman escapes civil war and discovers a love of scientific learning and a remarkable literary talent.

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 production.

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:07.2	Savings, credit cards, car finance, reclaiming, insurance, investing, power of attorney, decision,
0:12.2	indecision, analysis, paralysis.
0:15.4	Don't panic.
0:16.4	The Martin Lewis podcast is twice weekly, helping you navigate our complex consumer world. I'll walk you through a big money saving topic step by step. Then in question time, you set the agenda and ask whatever's on your mind.
0:28.6	Would you rather be locked in an empty shopping centre with a thousand snakes or just one gorilla? Within reason.
0:34.2	The Martin Lewis podcast, listen on BBC Sounds.
0:38.6	The lady had been kidnapped and bundled onto a ship.
0:42.9	She is in the bowels of the boat at the very deepest part
0:46.2	and she starts to smell the smell of rotting bodies around her.
0:50.4	She climbed up on the deck, alone in the storm.
0:55.1	Suddenly the ship crossed over.
0:58.2	Through a kind of magical tunnel from our North Pole to another pole of another world which is attached to our world.
1:05.4	And she enters into this brave new world of ice and whiteness and perfection.
1:12.6	It's kind of a painting. It's kind of perfectly pure and glistening.
1:16.6	She passes emerald worlds, emerald lands on the side, glittering seas.
1:21.6	A host of figures appeared and pulled the ship to shore.
1:26.6	They were part man, part bare,
1:29.3	frightening to look at, but gentle in manner.
1:33.3	With their large paws, they gently lifted the lady's body.
1:38.3	They took her to their emperor.
1:41.3	You've got towers of gold, winding rivers,
	...

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