Lucy Hughes-Hallett

The extraordinary life of 17th-century polymath Margaret Cavendish

Some thought her completely mad but others were transfixed by her wayward personality and idiosyncratic writings, in which she switched from factual narrative to phantasmagorical fiction and polemical plays

Portrait of Margaret Cavendish by Peter Lely, 1665. [Alamy]
  • Comments

  • Pure Wit: The Revolutionary Life of Margaret Cavendish

    Francesca Peacock

    Head of Zeus, pp. 384, £27

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Subscribe today to get 3 months' delivery of the magazine, as well as online and app access, for only £3.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

  • Weekly delivery of the magazine
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Lynne O’Donnell

Afghanistan won’t be at the Olympics

When the thousands of international athletes march proudly behind their national flags along the banks of the River Seine in Paris to open the Olympic Games in a few months, the country that usually leads the parade, behind the host, will be absent. Afghanistan, first in the alphabetical order of nations, has been captured by

Because you read about antwerp

Also by Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Latest

Comments

A blooming good offer

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting the next 3 months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in