Margaret Cavendish

17th-century feminist philosopher who challenged scientific orthodoxy through speculative fiction

Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), Duchess of Newcastle, defied gender norms by publishing 21 original works ranging from natural philosophy to proto-science fiction. Her 1666 novel "The Blazing World" is considered the first sci-fi text by a female author, envisioning parallel universes and animal-human hybrids centuries before these concepts became mainstream.

In "Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy", she critiqued Robert Boyle's Royal Society methodologies, arguing that microscope observations distorted nature's truth. Cavendish's vitalist materialism proposed that all matter possessed perception—a radical departure from mechanical philosophy. She hosted intellectual salons while wearing self-designed flamboyant outfits, becoming both celebrated and mocked as "Mad Madge".

Her play "The Convent of Pleasure" presented all-female utopias challenging marriage norms. Modern scholars recognize her as a pioneer in gender studies and posthumanist theory, with recent editions of her works published by Cambridge University Press.