The Description of a New World called The Blazing-World Contributor(s): Cavendish, Margaret (Author), Strock, Ian Randal (Introduction by) |
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ISBN: 1515424162 ISBN-13: 9781515424161 Publisher: Fantastic Books OUR PRICE: $6.64 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2020 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Science Fiction - Action & Adventure - Fiction | Romance - Science Fiction - Fiction | Classics |
Dewey: FIC |
Physical Information: 0.26" H x 6" W x 9" (0.37 lbs) 108 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: The Blazing-World is a fanciful depiction of a utopian kingdom in another world that can be reached via the North Pole. It may be "the only known work of utopian fiction by a woman in the 17th century." It can also easily be placed in the genres of science fiction, romance, adventure, and possibly even autobiography. In the book, a young woman enters this other world, and becomes the empress of a society composed of various species of talking animals. She organizes an invasion of her home world, complete with submarines towed by fish-men and fire-stones dropped by bird-men. Cavendish's utopia comes about, at least in part, due to having "but one religion, one language, and one government." Originally published as a companion piece to her Observations upon Experimental Philosophy, it gave life to her theorizing in what was an example of rigorous 17th-century science. This book inspired the author's husband, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to write a sonnet which celebrates her imaginative powers. That sonnet was included in her book, and prefaces this edition. |