Helen Ruth Castor (born 4 August 1968 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

) is a British historian of the medieval and Tudor period and a BBC broadcaster. She taught history at Cambridge University and is the author of books including ''

Blood and Roses ''Blood and Roses'' (french: Et mourir de plaisir, lit=And die of pleasure) is a 1960 erotic horror film directed by Roger Vadim. It is based on the novella ''Carmilla'' (1872) by Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, shifting the book's setting in 1 ...

'' (2005) and ''She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth '' (2010). Programmes she has presented include

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''Making History'' and ''She-Wolves'' on BBC Four.

Early life and education

Helen Castor attended

The King's High School for Girls The King's High School (also called simply ''King's High'' or KHS) is an independent day school for girls on the Banbury Road, Warwick, England. One of its main feeder schools is Warwick Preparatory School, which takes girls from the ages of 3 ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

from 1979-1986, and then completed a BA and a PhD at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

. She was elected to a Research Fellowship at Jesus College. She was a Fellow of

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

, and is now a Bye-fellow.Profile at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
Personal Website.
Kings High School, Warwick. OGA

Career

Castor was Director of Studies in History at

for eight years before focusing on writing and media.

Broadcasting

Castor has worked extensively for the BBC including presenting Radio 4's ''Making History'' and ''She-Wolves'' on BBC Four. In 2013 she was a member of the winning team on ''

Christmas University Challenge ''Christmas University Challenge'' is a British quiz programme which has aired on BBC Two since 2011. It is a spin-off from University Challenge that airs daily over the Christmas period, and features teams of noteworthy alumni from British u ...

'', representing Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Literary review

She has written for the books pages of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', '' Sunday Telegraph'', '' Sunday Times'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' and ''

The Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

''. She was part of the judging panel for the

2022 Booker Prize The 2022 Booker Prize was a literary award given for the best English novel of the year. It was announced on 17 October 2022, during a ceremony hosted by Sophie Duker at the Roundhouse in London. The longlist was announced on 26 July 2022. The ...

Writing

Castor's book ''

'' (2005) is a biography of the 15th-century

Paston family The ''Paston Letters'' is a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impor ...

, whose letters are the earliest surviving collection of private correspondence in the English language. ''Blood and Roses'' was long-listed for the

Samuel Johnson Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its ...

for non-fiction in 2005. It was also awarded the Beatrice White Prize for outstanding scholarly work in the field of English literature before 1590, by the

English Association The English Association is a subject association for English dedicated to furthering the study and enjoyment of English language and literature in schools, higher education institutes and amongst the public in general. It was founded in 1906 by ...

in 2006. ''She-Wolves'' (2010) was voted one of the books of the year in the ''Guardian'', ''Times'', ''Sunday Times'', ''Independent'', ''Financial Times'' and BBC ''History Magazine''. BBC Four televised a three-part series based on the book in 2012, presented by Castor. Castor wrote the volume on

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

for the series Penguin Monarchs, ''Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity'', published in 2018.Penguin Books
/ref> Castor was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.

The Booker Prize

In 2022 Castor was chosen alongside four other 'superb readers' to judge the

competition for best novel of the year. The judging panel of Castor, broadcaster

Shahidha Bari Shahidha Bari is a British academic, critic and broadcaster, born 1980. She is a professor at the University of the Arts London based at London College of Fashion. She is a host of the topical arts television programme ''Inside Culture'' on BBC ...

, novelist and critic

M. John Harrison Michael John Harrison (born 26 July 1945), known for publication purposes primarily as M. John Harrison, is an English author and literary critic.Kelley, George. "Harrison, M(ichael) John" in Jay P. Pederson (.ed) ''St. James guide to sci ...

, novelist and poet Alain Mabanckou, and cultural historian, writer, broadcaster and panel chair

Neil MacGregor Robert Neil MacGregor (born 16 June 1946) is a British art historian and former museum director. He was editor of the ''Burlington Magazine'' from 1981 to 1987, then Director of the National Gallery, London, from 1987 to 2002, Director of th ...

selected '' The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida'' by

Shehan Karunatilaka Shehan Karunatilaka (born 1975) is a Sri Lankan writer. He grew up in Colombo, studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. His 2010 debut novel '' Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew'' won the Commonwe ...

. The judges admired the "ambition of its scope, and the hilarious audacity of its narrative techniques”.

Personal life

Castor lives in London with her son. Her sister is the children's author, Harriet Castor Jeffrey.

Books

*''The King, the Crown, and the Duchy of Lancaster: Public Authority and Private Power, 1399–1461'' (2000) Oxford University Press *''

'' (2004) Faber and FaberFaber profile
*''She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth '' (2010) Faber and Faber *''Joan of Arc: A History '' (2014) Faber and Faber *''Elizabeth I (Penguin Monarchs): A Study in Insecurity'' (2018) Penguin

Television

*''A Renaissance Education: The Schooling of Thomas More's Daughter'' (2011) BBC Four *''She-Wolves: England's Early Queens'' (2012) BBC Four *''Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage and Death'' (2013) BBC Four *''Joan of Arc: God's Warrior'' (2015) BBC Two *''The Real Versailles'' (2016) BBC Two *''Women Sex and Society: A Timewatch Guide'' (2016) BBC Four *''England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey'' (2018) BBC Four

Radio

* ''England: Made in the Middle'' (2016)

References

External links

Faber profile"Paperback Q&A: Helen Castor on She-Wolves"
11 October 2011 ''The Guardian''
Profile at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castor, Helen Living people 1968 births English historians English women non-fiction writers Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge BBC people Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British women historians