The description of a new world

About “The description of a new world”

A young lady is abducted by sea and transported to a world where the blazing stars make night as bright as day. There, she marries the world’s Emperor and becomes Empress. She consults creatures and immaterial spirits to explore scientific and philosophical topics. The story suggests that a society with a unified language and religion can be orderly under a benevolent monarch. Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, appears in the story, offering advice and showing the Empress her own world. The Blazing World was written in 1666, shortly after the restoration of the British monarchy. Its fantastical elements mark it as an early example of science fiction.