The duchess who gatecrashed science

Alderman, N (2016) The duchess who gatecrashed science.

Item Type: Audio
Creators: Alderman, N
Abstract: In the spring of 1667 Samuel Pepys queued repeatedly with crowds of Londoners and waited for hours just to catch a glimpse of aristocrat writer and thinker Margaret Cavendish. Twice he was frustrated and couldn't spot her, but eventually she made a grand visit to meet the Fellows of the newly formed Royal Society. She was the first woman ever to visit. Pepys watched as they received her with gritted teeth and fake smiles. They politely showed her air pumps, magnets and microscopes, and she politely professed her amazement, then left in her grand carriage. Naomi Alderman asks what it was it about this celebrity poet, playwright, author, and thinker that so fascinated and yet also infuriated these men of the Restoration elite? Part of the answer strikes right at the core of what we now call the scientific method.
Official URL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06yfcph
Date: January 2016
Note:

Part of BBC Radio 4's 'Science Stories', series 2.

Divisions: School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
Date Deposited: 05 Jun 2018 15:07
Last Modified: 05 Jan 2022 16:51
Request a change to this item or report an issue Request a change to this item or report an issue
Update item (repository staff only) Update item (repository staff only)