Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Book Reviewed by:
Katharine Blatchford
Buy This Book
Francesca Peacock's debut, Pure Wit, is a captivating and well-researched biography of a woman whose contributions to literary history have largely been ignored. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, was a 17th-century writer of poetry, philosophy, and some of the earliest science fiction. However, beginning in her lifetime, consideration of her creative and philosophical output has come second place to speculation about her eccentricities, relationships, and even her sanity. Pure Wit cuts through centuries of gossip and dismissal to form a clear picture of Cavendish, her life, and her work.
Peacock draws readers in with Cavendish's reputation over the centuries, from diarist Samuel Pepys' fascination with her at the height of her fame in 1667, to her elaborate funeral only seven years later, to Virginia Woolf's dismissal of her as "crack-brained and bird-witted" in 1929. She then...
BookBrowse's reviews and "beyond the book" articles are part of the many benefits of membership and, thus, are generally only available to subscribers, including individual members and patrons of libraries that subscribe.
Join Today
If you liked Pure Wit, try these:
by Catherine Hewitt
Published 2018
Catherine Hewitt's richly told biography of Suzanne Valadon, the illegitimate daughter of a provincial linen maid who became famous as a model for the Impressionists and later as a painter in her own right.
by A.C. Grayling
Published 2017
Out of a 'fractured and fractious time,' the author asserts persuasively, the medieval mind evolved into the modern. Another thought-provoking winner from Grayling." - Kirkus
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
