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mari1532's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I checked this book out of my library.
Brief Summary: This book focuses on the literary contributions of Cavendish and their wider impact on the literary world. Although not the focus of the book Cavendish's life is also examined at various points throughout the book.
Thoughts: I learned quite a bit about Margaret Cavendish's life from this book. I have only encountered her briefly in other books and was interested in diving into a book focused on her life and works. That being said, while I learned things from this book, I did not enjoy it.
Peacock's writing style was fine and overall the book was easy to follow in terms of timeline and cast of characters. However, there was so much discussion about the other significant writers of the period that half the time it did not even feel like I was reading a book about Cavendish.
When a discussion about Cavendish's works was focused on in the book it made me more interested in the book as I have no real foreknowledge of her works. The examination of what was novel about Cavendish's works for the period was interesting as it provided insight into who Cavendish was as a person and what was motivating her to write. I do wish that more of Cavendish's biography had been included in the text to highlight these aspects as the biography often felt disjointed from the discussion of the work she was producing.
Overall, I found this book interesting, but I don't think that it was what I was hoping to get out of a book about Cavendish. I was a little more interested in a biographical perspective of her life and this was a little more literary criticism/examination.
Brief Summary: This book focuses on the literary contributions of Cavendish and their wider impact on the literary world. Although not the focus of the book Cavendish's life is also examined at various points throughout the book.
Thoughts: I learned quite a bit about Margaret Cavendish's life from this book. I have only encountered her briefly in other books and was interested in diving into a book focused on her life and works. That being said, while I learned things from this book, I did not enjoy it.
Peacock's writing style was fine and overall the book was easy to follow in terms of timeline and cast of characters. However, there was so much discussion about the other significant writers of the period that half the time it did not even feel like I was reading a book about Cavendish.
When a discussion about Cavendish's works was focused on in the book it made me more interested in the book as I have no real foreknowledge of her works. The examination of what was novel about Cavendish's works for the period was interesting as it provided insight into who Cavendish was as a person and what was motivating her to write. I do wish that more of Cavendish's biography had been included in the text to highlight these aspects as the biography often felt disjointed from the discussion of the work she was producing.
Overall, I found this book interesting, but I don't think that it was what I was hoping to get out of a book about Cavendish. I was a little more interested in a biographical perspective of her life and this was a little more literary criticism/examination.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Mental illness, and Classism
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and War
sophronisba's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Informative and enjoyable account of the life of Margaret Cavendish. I am not sure I would like her that much, were she alive today, but her life is certainly worth reading about.
sam_bizar_wilcox's review
2.0
Literary biographies that include "Revolutionary" or "Radical" in their titles are often a sign that something is amiss. With this one, I think the subject was revolutionary, but not in the ways that Peacock every seriously considers. There's a lot of "oohing" and "aahing" at how Cavendish had the gumption to write about and to contemporary thinkers of her day: Henry More, Thomas Hobbes, Descartes, etc. But, Peacock is so charmed by the gumption herself that she never really considers the implications of what the Duchess of Newcastle has to say, beyond the mandatory summary of "vitalist materialism." Margaret Cavendish, cheeky and bold, becomes an object of fascination, not a rightful subject of her own literary biography. Peacock tells the reader to take Cavendish seriously, but she never really does it herself.
Other reviewers have noted that there's already been a mainstream biography of Cavendish; Peacock's doesn't add much, except some striking juxtapositions (the obligatory Virginia Woolf, who denigrated Cavendish, the Bronte sisters, bell hooks, etc.). How similar this book is to Mad Madge, I can't comment--I haven't read it. Danielle Dutton also wrote a pretty good novel about Margaret Cavendish, which I have read. There's certainly a lot to enjoy here for readers who are unfamiliar with Cavendish, and Peacock's prose is extremely readable and leisurely. But, the book's argument hinges on the idea that it is interesting and important to point to and gawk at a woman who led a non-traditional life. But is it?
Margaret Cavendish's life was interesting. But that's not what makes her a compelling figure to me. She wrote profusely, and her writing reveals quite a lot about early modern anxieties about gender, about friendship, about the environment, etc. Her ideas often were deeply radical. They were also human, thoughtful, and complex. Her work expresses an interest in endless potentiality, in infinities. I have decidedly mixed feelings about this book, as the Guardian critic Rachel Cooke, but Cooke and I have diverging qualms: where she's uninterested in the philosophical ideas of Cavendish, I wanted the book to be somehow grounded in more of this--it was, after all, the argument that Peacock seems to be advancing, no?
Perhaps here's the issue: Peacock wants to present Margaret Cavendish as a #girlboss feminist, and as an early modern genderfuck crusader. In that way, she aims to illuminate a rather complicated life, but in so doing it becomes simple and recognizable (and recognizably cliche) to her present readers. How many books are there about women who defied expectations? And what, did they defy exactly? That never seems to matter--what matters is that we can pluck an ostensibly obscure woman (which, is Margaret Cavendish actually that obscure? I'd read The Blazing World well before I'd seen it on a syllabus) out of history and say "look, how outrageous!" This is a reductive history, of singling out viragos as they come, and calling them feminist because they are...women. We know these women. We've read about them before. Why not have a Cavendish who isn't entirely comprehensible? Why not have a Cavendish who lived a life that was interesting in its own right, but which cannot simply be paired with 20th and 21st century corollaries?
Ultimately, if my lukewarm reception dissuades readers unfamiliar with Cavendish, I would say that they should give this book a try. Peacock's writing is breezy, and the book is well-paced and often fun. But I don't like that it establishes its conclusions well or editorializes in ways that are particularly illuminating. Even if I didn't find the book particularly convincing, I cannot say that I had a bad time reading this (though, I did roll my eyes every so often...particularly Peacock's reductive reading of Milton).
Other reviewers have noted that there's already been a mainstream biography of Cavendish; Peacock's doesn't add much, except some striking juxtapositions (the obligatory Virginia Woolf, who denigrated Cavendish, the Bronte sisters, bell hooks, etc.). How similar this book is to Mad Madge, I can't comment--I haven't read it. Danielle Dutton also wrote a pretty good novel about Margaret Cavendish, which I have read. There's certainly a lot to enjoy here for readers who are unfamiliar with Cavendish, and Peacock's prose is extremely readable and leisurely. But, the book's argument hinges on the idea that it is interesting and important to point to and gawk at a woman who led a non-traditional life. But is it?
Margaret Cavendish's life was interesting. But that's not what makes her a compelling figure to me. She wrote profusely, and her writing reveals quite a lot about early modern anxieties about gender, about friendship, about the environment, etc. Her ideas often were deeply radical. They were also human, thoughtful, and complex. Her work expresses an interest in endless potentiality, in infinities. I have decidedly mixed feelings about this book, as the Guardian critic Rachel Cooke, but Cooke and I have diverging qualms: where she's uninterested in the philosophical ideas of Cavendish, I wanted the book to be somehow grounded in more of this--it was, after all, the argument that Peacock seems to be advancing, no?
Perhaps here's the issue: Peacock wants to present Margaret Cavendish as a #girlboss feminist, and as an early modern genderfuck crusader. In that way, she aims to illuminate a rather complicated life, but in so doing it becomes simple and recognizable (and recognizably cliche) to her present readers. How many books are there about women who defied expectations? And what, did they defy exactly? That never seems to matter--what matters is that we can pluck an ostensibly obscure woman (which, is Margaret Cavendish actually that obscure? I'd read The Blazing World well before I'd seen it on a syllabus) out of history and say "look, how outrageous!" This is a reductive history, of singling out viragos as they come, and calling them feminist because they are...women. We know these women. We've read about them before. Why not have a Cavendish who isn't entirely comprehensible? Why not have a Cavendish who lived a life that was interesting in its own right, but which cannot simply be paired with 20th and 21st century corollaries?
Ultimately, if my lukewarm reception dissuades readers unfamiliar with Cavendish, I would say that they should give this book a try. Peacock's writing is breezy, and the book is well-paced and often fun. But I don't like that it establishes its conclusions well or editorializes in ways that are particularly illuminating. Even if I didn't find the book particularly convincing, I cannot say that I had a bad time reading this (though, I did roll my eyes every so often...particularly Peacock's reductive reading of Milton).
samarakroeger's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
a fascinating biography of an intriguing woman writer that I’d never want to actually read from, just about her. this also helped fill in some large gaps in my knowledge of 1600s Britain. I would love to know what Margaret Cavendish would write if she were alive today.
lfmp's review
informative
medium-paced
4.5
A bit repetitive in places, but how are you meant to describe a life in neat, easily separated categories?
Margaret Cavendish was fascinating, and this author does an excellent job of arguing the case of her importance.
Margaret has been considered mad by both her contemporaries and historians, which the author questions and instead suggests this is due to Margaret’s refusal to adhere to the strict role seventeenth century women were meant to fulfill. While this definitely is a factor, it is also possible for Margaret to have been neurodivergent, rebellious and brilliant!
Margaret Cavendish was fascinating, and this author does an excellent job of arguing the case of her importance.
Margaret has been considered mad by both her contemporaries and historians, which the author questions and instead suggests this is due to Margaret’s refusal to adhere to the strict role seventeenth century women were meant to fulfill. While this definitely is a factor, it is also possible for Margaret to have been neurodivergent, rebellious and brilliant!
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Ableism, Sexism, Infertility, and Mental illness