The Blazing World

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books ‘I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security’ In 1666, Margaret Cavendish had a vision: there was a crack in reality at the North Pole leading to a utopian parallel universe, where gender roles, scientific orthodoxy and political norms had been razed to the ground. She slipped through the portal and returned with the first science fiction novel in English – an explosive account of the Blazing World.

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books ‘I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security’ In 1666, Margaret Cavendish had a vision: there was a crack in reality at the North Pole leading to a utopian parallel universe, where gender roles, scientific orthodoxy and political norms had been razed to the ground. She slipped through the portal and returned with the first science fiction novel in English – an explosive account of the Blazing World.

Written by a 17th-century duchess, this remarkable utopian fantasy represents a forerunner of the science-fiction genre. Its romantic adventures center on the Lady, who is kidnapped, shipwrecked, and transported to the Blazing World, where she marries the emperor and is granted unlimited power. The Lady takes an active interest in science and philosophy, and her benevolent reign outlaws war, religious conflict, and gender discrimination.

Written by a 17th-century duchess, this remarkable utopian fantasy represents a forerunner of the science-fiction genre. Its romantic adventures center on the Lady, who is kidnapped, shipwrecked, and transported to the Blazing World, where she marries the emperor and is granted unlimited power. The Lady takes an active interest in science and philosophy, and her benevolent reign outlaws war, religious conflict, and gender discrimination.

As its full title suggests, Blazing World is a fanciful depiction of a satirical, utopian kingdom in another world (with different stars in the sky) that can be reached via the North Pole. It is "the only known work of utopian fiction by a woman in the 17th century, as well as an example of what we now call 'proto-science fiction' - although it is also a romance, an adventure story, and even autobiography." 3] A young woman enters this other world, becomes the empress of a society composed of various species of talking animals, and organizes an invasion back into her world complete with submarines towed by the "fish men" and the dropping of "fire stones" by the "bird men" to confound the enemies of her homeland, the Kingdom of Esfi.

As its full title suggests, Blazing World is a fanciful depiction of a satirical, utopian kingdom in another world (with different stars in the sky) that can be reached via the North Pole. It is "the only known work of utopian fiction by a woman in the 17th century, as well as an example of what we now call 'proto-science fiction' - although it is also a romance, an adventure story, and even autobiography." 3] A young woman enters this other world, becomes the empress of a society composed of various species of talking animals, and organizes an invasion back into her world complete with submarines towed by the "fish men" and the dropping of "fire stones" by the "bird men" to confound the enemies of her homeland, the Kingdom of Esfi.

As suggested by its full title, The Blazing World is a fanciful description of a utopian and satirist kingdom in another world (with several stars in the sky), which can be reached via the North Pole. It is "the only known work of utopian fiction written by a woman in the 17th century, and one of the earliest examples of what is now known as science fiction, but also in the case of a romance, an adventure story and an autobiography. "

As suggested by its full title, The Blazing World is a fanciful description of a utopian and satirist kingdom in another world (with several stars in the sky), which can be reached via the North Pole. It is "the only known work of utopian fiction written by a woman in the 17th century, and one of the earliest examples of what is now known as science fiction, but also in the case of a romance, an adventure story and an autobiography. "

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES FICTION PRIZE ' Dazzling' Sunday Times 'Truly wonderful ' Daily Mail Artist Harriet Burden, consumed by fury at the lack of recognition she has received from the New York art establishment, embarks on an experiment: she hides her identity behind three male fronts who exhibit her work as their own. Yet when Harriet unmasks herself to claim her rightful praise, not everyone believes her - submerging the art world in a scandal that soon turns deadly. 'A novel that gloriously lives up to its title, one blazing with energy and thought' The Times 'I have told nearly everyone I love - and some random acquaintances - to stop whatever they are doing and read The Blazing World ' Financial Times

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES FICTION PRIZE ' Dazzling' Sunday Times 'Truly wonderful ' Daily Mail Artist Harriet Burden, consumed by fury at the lack of recognition she has received from the New York art establishment, embarks on an experiment: she hides her identity behind three male fronts who exhibit her work as their own. Yet when Harriet unmasks herself to claim her rightful praise, not everyone believes her - submerging the art world in a scandal that soon turns deadly. 'A novel that gloriously lives up to its title, one blazing with energy and thought' The Times 'I have told nearly everyone I love - and some random acquaintances - to stop whatever they are doing and read The Blazing World ' Financial Times

'This is a wonderful book, exhaustively researched, vigorously argued and teeming with the furious joy of seventeenth-century life' THE TIMES 'A brilliant, bloody account of England's most dramatic century . . . Thrilling' TELEGRAPH ‘The most entertaining general history of seventeenth-century England I have read’ TOM HOLLAND The seventeenth century began as the English found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and ended in the shadow of a Dutch invasion. Midway through, society collapsed into a civil war, followed by army coup and regicide. For a short time – for the only time in history – England was a republic. In coffee shops and alehouses, ordinary people fizzed with ideas that were angry, populist and almost impossible to control. Despite these radical changes, few today fully understand the story of this revolutionary age. Leaders like Oliver Cromwell, Charles II and William of Orange have been reduced to caricatures, while major turning points like the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution are shrouded in myth. Yet, as Jonathan Healey argues, the period has never been more relevant. From raw politics to religious divisions, civil wars to witch trials, plague to press freedoms, The Blazing World tells the story of this strange but fascinating century in exuberant, panoramic detail.

'This is a wonderful book, exhaustively researched, vigorously argued and teeming with the furious joy of seventeenth-century life' THE TIMES 'A brilliant, bloody account of England's most dramatic century . . . Thrilling' TELEGRAPH ‘The most entertaining general history of seventeenth-century England I have read’ TOM HOLLAND The seventeenth century began as the English found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and ended in the shadow of a Dutch invasion. Midway through, society collapsed into a civil war, followed by army coup and regicide. For a short time – for the only time in history – England was a republic. In coffee shops and alehouses, ordinary people fizzed with ideas that were angry, populist and almost impossible to control. Despite these radical changes, few today fully understand the story of this revolutionary age. Leaders like Oliver Cromwell, Charles II and William of Orange have been reduced to caricatures, while major turning points like the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution are shrouded in myth. Yet, as Jonathan Healey argues, the period has never been more relevant. From raw politics to religious divisions, civil wars to witch trials, plague to press freedoms, The Blazing World tells the story of this strange but fascinating century in exuberant, panoramic detail.

Named one of the New York Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books of the Year ** Publishers Weekly 's Best Fiction Books of 2014 ** NPR Best Books of 2014 ** Kirkus Reviews Best Literary Fiction Books of 2014 ** Washington Post Top 50 Fiction Books of 2014 ** Boston Globe 's Best Fiction of 2014 ** The Telegraph 's Best Fiction to Read 2014 ** St. Louis Post Dispatch 's Best Books of 2014 ** The Independent Fiction Books of the Year 2014 ** One of Buzzfeed 's Best Books Written by Women in 2014 ** San Francisco Chronicle 's Best of 2014 ** A Nancy Pearl Pick ** PopMatters.com's Best of 2014 Fiction Winner of the 2014 LA Times Book Prize for Fiction Finalist for the 2014 Kirkus Prize Hailed by The Washington Post as "Siri Hustvedt's best novel yet, an electrifying work," The Blazing World is a masterful novel about perception, prejudice, desire, and one woman's struggle to be seen. In a new novel called "searingly fresh... A Nabokovian cat's cradle" on the cover of The New York Times Book Review , the internationally bestselling author tells the provocative story of artist Harriet Burden, who, after years of having her work ignored, ignites an explosive scandal in New York's art world when she recruits three young men to present her creations as their own. Yet when the shows succeed and Burden steps forward for her triumphant reveal, she is betrayed by the third man, Rune. Many critics side with him, and Burden and Rune find themselves in a charged and dangerous game, one that ends in his bizarre death. An intricately conceived, diabolical puzzle presented as a collection of texts, including Harriet's journals, assembled after her death, this "glorious mashup of storytelling and scholarship" ( San Francisco Chronicle ) unfolds from multiple perspectives as Harriet's critics, fans, family, and others offer their own conflicting opinions of where the truth lies. Writing in Slate , Katie Roiphe declared it "a spectacularly good read...feminism in the tradition of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex or Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own richly complex, densely psychological, dazzlingly nuanced." "Astonishing, harrowing, and utterly, completely engrossing" (NPR), Hustvedt's new novel is "Blazing indeed: ...with agonizing compassion for all of wounded humanity"( Kirkus Reviews , starred review). It is a masterpiece that will be remembered for years to come.

AN ECONOMIST AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A fresh, exciting, "readable and informative " history ( The New York Times ) of seventeenth-century England, a time of revolution when society was on fire and simultaneously forging the modern world . - "Recapture[s] a lost moment when a radically democratic commonwealth seemed possible."--Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker "[Healy] makes a convincing argument that the turbulent era qualifies as truly 'revolutionary, ' not simply because of its cascading political upheavals, but in terms of far-reaching changes within society.... Wryly humorous and occasionally bawdy"-- The Wall Street Journal The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time--for the only time in history--England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops and alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, and almost impossible for monarchs to control. But the story of this century is less well known than it should be. Myths have grown around key figures. People may know about the Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London, but the Civil War is a half-remembered mystery to many. And yet the seventeenth century has never seemed more relevant. The British constitution is once again being bent and contorted, and there is a clash of ideologies reminiscent of when Roundhead fought Cavalier. The Blazing World is the story of this strange, twisting, fascinating century. It shows a society in sparkling detail. It was a new world of wealth, creativity, and daring curiosity, but also of greed, pugnacious arrogance, and colonial violence.

AN ECONOMIST AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A fresh, exciting, "readable and informative " history ( The New York Times ) of seventeenth-century England, a time of revolution when society was on fire and simultaneously forging the modern world . - "Recapture[s] a lost moment when a radically democratic commonwealth seemed possible."--Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker "[Healy] makes a convincing argument that the turbulent era qualifies as truly 'revolutionary, ' not simply because of its cascading political upheavals, but in terms of far-reaching changes within society.... Wryly humorous and occasionally bawdy"-- The Wall Street Journal The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time--for the only time in history--England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops and alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, and almost impossible for monarchs to control. But the story of this century is less well known than it should be. Myths have grown around key figures. People may know about the Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London, but the Civil War is a half-remembered mystery to many. And yet the seventeenth century has never seemed more relevant. The British constitution is once again being bent and contorted, and there is a clash of ideologies reminiscent of when Roundhead fought Cavalier. The Blazing World is the story of this strange, twisting, fascinating century. It shows a society in sparkling detail. It was a new world of wealth, creativity, and daring curiosity, but also of greed, pugnacious arrogance, and colonial violence.