Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673), Duchess of Newcastle and one of the best-known women writers of the her time, is enjoying a revival in the wake of Aphra Behn's canonization: She appears in the "Norton Anthology of English Literature," her poetry will appear in a new edition, and Penguin has recently reprinted her science-fiction novel "The Blazing World." This is an edition of her hilarious and rowdy letters, unavailable since their original publication in 1664
"Margaret Cavendish: Sociable Letters" is a window into the world of 17th-century marriage and daily life displaying a pleasing...