Margaret Cavendish: Trailblazer
From 14 February 2025 to the end of August 2025, Hollytrees Museum will be host to a trail exploring the life and work of Margaret Cavendish.
Margaret was born in 1623 and spent most of her early life in Colchester. She went on to become a pioneering feminist sci-fi writer in an age when women had very few rights.
What’s more, she was known for her outrageous fashions and open criticism of influential men of the day. A truly inspiring Colcestrian!
Illustration of Margaret Cavendish by Catalina Carvajal
The Blazing World
The Blazing World is one of the first dystopian sci-fi works of fiction and certainly the first written by a woman.
It starts with the kidnapping of a character called The Lady by a merchant ship. The ship is blown to the North Pole, and the entire crew freezes, leaving the lady as the sole survivor. She then enters a world connected to ours via the North Pole, which is inhabited by half-animal, half-human beings.
Soon, she meets The Emperor, who she marries, and is given full rule over the world she has discovered. As empress of this world, she learns about science, politics, and philosophy from the beings that live there.
Each animal has a different specialism, such as Foxes being politicians and Bears being astronomers. Eventually, she asks other spirits living on this planet to bring her a soul to help her write a religious and philosophical book. The spirits bring her Margaret Cavendish.
The Empress and Margaret discuss science and philosophy and travel back and forth between the two worlds to learn more. Eventually, a war breaks out in Margaret’s native country, and she must return to help. She designs golden ships that can travel underwater, which helps defeat the invading army and restore peace.
A Pioneering Colchester-born Woman
Margaret spent much of her early years in Colchester, with her family living at St John’s Abbey. At the time, St John’s Abbey was a manor house built on the grounds of the demolished abbey that had been dissolved during the reign of Henry VIII.
The manor was destroyed during the English Civil War during the Siege of Colchester in 1648, and only the gatehouse survives now.
Although she wasn’t formally educated, she was the youngest of 8 children in the Lucas family and was surrounded by books as a child. She often educated herself through those books and conversations with her brothers and sisters.
She started writing at a young age and was likely inspired by the horrific events of her early years. Growing up during the English Civil War and then being forced to flee to France while her brother was executed at the back of Colchester Castle, conflict was an important aspect of her writing.
St John’s Abbey Gate, the only trace of Cavendish’s childhood home. Image courtesy of Visit Colchester.
Charles Lucas, brother of Margaret Cavendish, and George Lisle being escorted down the great stairs of Colchester Castle. Painted by Harry Becker in the early 1900s.
Marriage and Death
Margaret was supported by her husband, William Cavendish, throughout her life. He wrote a sonnet that was published at the front of her work, The Blazing World, praising the work.
Equally, she wrote a biography, The Life of the Thrice Noble, High and Puissant Prince William Cavendish, in which she recounts his continuous support of her.
The pair met whilst in exile, having fled England during the English Civil War. After the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660, the couple returned to England but lived in Cavendish’s homes in the North of England.
Margaret died in 1673 aged around 50, with her husband surviving her. He built a monument to her at Westminster Abbey, where the pair are buried.
The Margaret Cavendish Trail
The trail features illustrations of some characters from her work The Blazing World, produced by local artist Catalina Carvajal. Each character represents a different aspect of science or politics, fields dominated by men at the time. They are described as half-human and half-animal, with the more human-looking Empress ruling over them.
The trail will share some of the key points in Margaret’s life and work and set the scene for what it was like to be a scientist and a writer in the 1600s. This was a century of upheaval, with the English Civil War dividing the country in two and constantly changing rule. From the monarchy to a commonwealth and back to a monarchy, Margaret lived through all of this, which undoubtedly inspired much of her writing.
This exhibition, which was created in collaboration with Professor Daniel Whiting of the University of Southampton, is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Further Resources
Colchester Museums Downloadable Resources
Hidden History: Margaret Cavendish
How did a girl from Colchester become the first Duchess of Newcastle, write a science fiction book, and scandalise London?
Mind and Body: Cavendish vs Descartes
A comprehensive examination of Margaret Cavendish’s critiques of René Descartes’ views on the mind-body relationship, offering valuable insights and discussion points to support classroom learning.
Colour: Cavendish vs Locke
An in-depth exploration of Margaret Cavendish’s contributions to philosophy, particularly her views on colour and her critiques of John Locke’s theories.
The Blazing World KS1 + KS2
Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World is a fantastical tale about a Lady who is taken to a parallel world populated by animal-people with unique skills. She becomes Empress, learning from scientists, philosophers, and spirits before returning to her own world to help in a war.
The Blazing World KS3 + KS4
This pioneering work of speculative fiction blends science, philosophy, and fantasy. The novel is considered an early feminist and science fiction text, reflecting Cavendish’s intellectual interests and her position as a trailblazing woman in 17th-century thought.
BBC Radio 4 Podcasts
Free Thinking: Margaret Cavendish
An extraordinary character in many ways – she lived in a tumultuous time, when ideas around science, religion and the very nature of existence were being challenged and changed. And she had a view on them all.
Art & Ideas: Margaret Cavendish
Margaret Cavendish’s writings are vast and broad and yet detailed and thoughtful. However for most of the last 400 years she has languished in obscurity before being rediscovered in the last 40 years and elevated to the status of feminist icon.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Margaret Lucas Cavendish
A comprehensive informational source on the life and works of Margaret Cavendish by David Cunning.
The Poetry Foundation
Duchess of Newcastle, Margaret Cavendish
An overview of Margaret Cavendish highlighting her prolific writing career, contributions to rhetoric, complex views on gender and authorship, and her historical significance as a 17th-century intellectual and literary figure.
International Margaret Cavendish Society
Official Website
The International Margaret Cavendish Society was established to provide a means of communication between scholars worldwide and to increase awareness of Margaret Cavendish and her writings.
Members work in such disciplines as English Literature, Cultural Studies, History, Philosophy and the History of Science.
