Alex von Tunzelmann meets Professor Keith Allen to discuss Margaret Cavendish’s remarkable legacy. Keith, who is professor of philosophy at the University of York, has been researching Margaret Cavendish and neurodiversity. He argues that Cavendish may have had one or more forms of neurodivergence, based on the descriptions she herself gave of her life and experience.

Cavendish clung to the hope of future fame. She knew that her work was misunderstood within her own time. Lady Dorothy Osborne remarked that there are "soberer people in Bedlam” - the psychiatric hospital. Centuries later, she was still being misunderstood. Virginia Woolf claimed that Cavendish was like “a giant cucumber,” choking the roses and carnations in an otherwise orderly garden of 17th century literature. Are these accusations fair?

Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.

A BBC Studios Audio production.

Producer: Lorna Reader