Margaret Cavendish: Sociable Letters / Edition 1

by James Fitzmaurice

Overview

Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673), Duchess of Newcastle and one of the best-known women writers of the her time, is enjoying a revival in the wake of Aphra Behn's canonization: She appears in the Norton Anthology of English Literature , her poetry will appear in a new edition, and Penguin has recently reprinted her science-fiction novel The Blazing World . This is an edition of her hilarious and rowdy letters, unavailable since their original publication in 1664
Margaret Cavendish: Sociable Letters is a window into the world of 17th-century marriage and daily life displaying a pleasing blend of the comic, the ironic, and the serious. Along the way, the author provides us with the first detailed criticism of Shakespeare's plays, which she defends against the Restoration distaste for low characters. She also comments on food, home remedies, the English Civil Wars, religious fanaticism, street entertainers, churchgoing as a way to find a husband, and winter sports
This edition offers a full introduction to Cavendish's life and works, a bibliography, and detailed notes, and takes account of hand-corrections made at the author's behest

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815324515
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/01/1996
Series:	Garland Studies in the Renaissance , #2009
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

James Fitzmaurice

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Detail from an etching of Margaret Cavendish printed with the kind permisson of the Fellows and Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University.;

Editorial Reviews

The second edition of Cavendish's (1623-773) collection of 211 hilarious and rowdy letters addressed to Madam, first published in 1664 and unavailable since. They open a window into her time with a blend of the comic, the ironic, and the serious. She comments on Shakespeare's plays, food, home remedies, the Civil War, religious fanaticism, street entertainers, going to church to find a husband, among other topics. Annotations and an introduction are added for the new edition. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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