The duchess who gatecrashed science

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. Producer: Alex Mansfield

You can listen to The duchess who gatecrashed science online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The duchess who gatecrashed science is an episode from Science Stories by BBC.

This episode is 27:57 long.

This episode was published on Jan 27, 2016.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Science Stories when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.