Mad Madge: Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, Royalist, Writer and Romantic - Tapa blanda

Born in 1623, Margaret Lucas went into Court service, accompanying the Queen during the Civil War and sharing her hair-raising escape to France in 1644. She married William Cavendish, Marquis of Newcastle and together they became part of the -migr- royalist circle that included aristocrats and the intellectual giants of the day, such as Descartes and Hobbes. She made her mark as one of the most determined and prolific of female writers of the age. Against the background of the fate of those loyal to the Royalist cause, and their eventual restoration, Whitaker captures all the energy, eccentricity and courage of her central character, who combined the intellect and audacity of George Sand with the myth-making life-style of Princess Diana.

Katie Whitaker did a Ph. D in the History of Science at Cambridge, where she was awarded the Thirlwall Prize and Medal for the best original research by a young scholar under 30. She has also been a Century Fellow at the University of Chicago where she was awarded an MPhil. She lives in Yorkshire.