Bell in Campo and the Sociable Companions

by Margaret Cavendish

Written during the English Civil War and Interregnum when the public theatres were closed and Margaret Cavendish was living away from England in exile, Bell in Campo and The Sociable Companions are scathing satires that speak to the role of women’s agency amidst this cultural tumult. In Bell in Campo , a group of virtuous women follow their husbands to war and, refusing to remain docilely out of harm’s way, form an army of their own. The Sociable Companions details the struggles of four women from impoverished Royalist families trying to survive in a rapacious marriage market at the war’s end. This Broadview Edition presents these two complementary plays together, along with supplementary materials on Cavendish’s life, the participation of women in the combat of the English Civil War, the conduct of the Royalist military forces, and seventeenth-century social and marriage conventions.

Genres: Drama

230 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2002

About the author

Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, was the youngest child of a wealthy Essex family. At the age of 20 she became Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta Maria and traveled with her into Persian exile in 1644. There she married William Cavendish, Marquis (later Duke) of Newcastle.

Between 1653 and 1668 she published many books on a wide variety of subjects, including many stories that are now regarded as some of the earliest examples of science fiction.

Reviews

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bell in Campo: 4 stars (had to read for class, was pleasantly surprised)
Sociable Companions: 2 stars (and why were the 17th and 18th centuries so rapey and manipulative??)

[Joti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed it! Margaret Cavendish is GREAT :) Loved the concept of a female army that decides to free themselves from the bonds of slavery & aspire to be as great as men & go for the glory of battle - It was great when Lady Victoria set down their laws & treason was punishable by death. And they saved the men's asses at the battle HAH. Upon their return to their kingdom & city, they're hailed as heroes & women are made masters of their homes & get control of everything.
But on a side note, the commentary about the two widows was interesting - how one is true to her husband if she wallows in her grief & dies & one is seen as untrue & foolish if she remarries a younger man & really, it always comes down to money - either marry an old woman & waste her fortune or if u marry a young woman, she'll waste your fortune. So despite the obvious, or rather, surface feminism of the play, there are some really interesting connotations Cavendish makes about widows remarrying & marriage being about money at the end of the day.
Good stuff. BTW, this was part of my reading for an Early Modern Women Writers course

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5 stars*