'I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security.'
Part romance, part adventure story, The Blazing World is a seventeenth century classic, and a prime example of proto-science fiction.
Often considered an early feminist work, Cavendish compellingly chronicles how a young Lady became a powerful empress of a fantastical parallel kingdom. Captured by a lustful merchant in the hope of marrying the young woman, we first find our protagonist travelling towards the North Pole, unsure of her future. But soon the merchant and his crew freeze to death, allowing the young Lady to escape and discover a pole to an alternative land: the Blazing World. Here, the laws of science and nature are upturned: peculiar hybrid creatures – with animal bodies but minds like humans – inhabit the kingdom. Believed to be a goddess by the Emperor of Paradise city, the young woman soon becomes betrothed to the leader of the strange land, and is able to rule and govern the world as she pleases. This audiobook edition is brilliantly brought to life by Karen Cass.
Margaret Cavendish (1632 – 1673), Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was a successful poet, playwright, scientist and philosopher. She was one of the first women of her time to publish extensively under her own name, and used her work to explore topics such as gender, marriage and courtship.