ELIZABETH CRAVEN AND HER WORLD

When Elizabeth Craven moved back to England in 1792 as the wife of the Margrave of Anspach, they bought Brandenburgh House in Hammersmith, a mansion that had once been owned by George Bubb-Doddington, Lord Melcombe. They had to remove a lot of Melcombe's ostentatious bad taste, particularly a marble floor in the upstairs gallery, which loaded it down and put stress on the building. Other things that had to go were Melcombe's crest, in pebbles, set into the middle of the front lawn; a hideous fireplace hung with spars representing icicles, and a bed with purple hangings, lined with orange, crowned by a dome of peacock's feathers. One day when Doddington had been showing the gallery to Edward, Duke of York, with its door of white marble, supported by lapis lazuli columns, its collection of busts and statues, and its inlaid marble floor, he is supposed to have said, “Sir, some persons tell me that this room ought to be on the ground.” “Don't worry Mr. Doddingto...

It was so exciting to see this first edition of the poetry of Margaret Cavendish, Lady (later Duchess of) Newcastle, beautifully preserved in the library of St Edmund Hall, Oxford and on show during their open day. Margaret Cavendish was one of Elizabeth Craven's precursors in poetry, a woman author who had to struggle to get people to take her seriously as a writer. She is one of so many exciting women writers who have been re-discovered in recent years and given the attention they so richly deserve. Cavendish has many things in common with Craven: both were overt feminists and both wrote plays that feature cross-dressing heroines. Cavendish's works are extraordinary and ingenious, not least because of their metaphysical blend of science and philosophical ideas with poetry. This poem, "A World in an Ear-ring", is a virtuoso display of mental and verbal ingenuity.  A World in an Earring An earring round may well a zodiac be, Wherein a sun...