Bell in Campo and The Sociable Companions by Margaret Cavendish

Bell in Campo and The Sociable Companions by Margaret Cavendish

Written during the English Civil War and Interregnum when the public theatres were closed and Margaret Cavendish was living away from England in exile, Bell in Campoand The Sociable Companionsare scathing satires that speak to the role of women's agency amidst this cultural tumult. In Bell in Campo, a group of virtuous women follow their husbands to war and, refusing to remain docilely out of harm's way, form an army of their own. The Sociable Companionsdetails the struggles of four women from impoverished Royalist families trying to survive in a rapacious marriage market at the war's end.

This Broadview Edition presents these two complementary plays together, along with supplementary materials on Cavendish's life, the participation of women in the combat of the English Civil War, the conduct of the Royalist military forces, and seventeenth-century social and marriage conventions.

“This useful edition is supported by excerpts from Cavendish’s autobiography and prefaces as well as by new and interesting materials taken from historical sourcesOf particular value are the two appendices on warrior women, one of which transcribes portions of the correspondence of Queen Henrietta Maria. The edition will be valuable for beginning students and advanced scholars alike.” — James Fitzmaurice, Northern Arizona University

“This edition forms an important and useful contribution to contemporary Cavendish scholarship. It is the first Cavendish play-text edition to present a 1662 and a 1668 play on similar subjects side by side, thus enabling comparative critical perspectives on Cavendish’s response to the English Civil War, as well as appraisal of her evolving dramatic technique. The edition is generously supplied with secondary materials; the contextual appendices detailing the exploits of contemporary women warriors or viragos, including Henrietta Maria, are of particular interest.” — Gweno Williams, York St. John College of The University of Leeds.

Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673) was a pioneering woman and author in the seventeenth century. She was an aristocracy from England who was also a philosopher, scientist, novelist, poet, and dramatist. Cavendish was not hesitant about her studies in philosophy and science, despite the fact that they are male-dominated subjects, and she communicated her thoughts and results on each topic in her written work. Despite the fact that Cavendish wrote during a period when women were discouraged from doing so, she always published under her own name rather than anonymously. Cavendish's work touched on a variety of themes and topics, including gender, sexuality, power, science, philosophy, and animal activism. The Blazing World, one of her early works, is regarded as one of the earliest examples of the science fiction genre.