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The Blazing World

By Margaret Cavendish
Series: Penguin Archive
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Brief Description
90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security In 1666, Margaret Cavendish had a vision—there was a crack in reality at the North Pole leading to a utopian... Read More
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90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books

I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security

In 1666, Margaret Cavendish had a vision—there was a crack in reality at the North Pole leading to a utopian parallel universe, where gender roles, scientific orthodoxy, and political norms had been razed to the ground. She slipped through the portal and returned with the first science fiction novel in English—an explosive account of the Blazing World.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241746813

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 April 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 9.0mm

Width: 111.0mm

Height: 181.0mm

Weight: 99g

Pages: 160

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Margaret Cavendish Penguin Books Penguin Classics Series: Penguin Archive

About the Author

Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (1623-73), became a Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta Maria, travelling with her into Parisian exile in 1644. There, she married William Cavendish, Marquis (later Duke) of Newcastle. Between 1653 and 1668 Margaret Cavendish published a dozen substantial books including poetry, moral tales, speculative fiction, romance, scientific treatises, natural philo-sophy, familiar letters, closet drama, orations, an autobiographical memoir and a biography of her husband. The sheer quantity and variety of Cavendish's published writing was unprecedented amongst earlier English women.

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