Reviews for Helen Castor’s ‘She Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth’ have started appearing.
For US Reviews
Paperback
By Dominic Sandbrook – The Culture (Sunday Times – 2nd July 2011 – added 5th July)
‘A rollicking account of four medieval queens (Matilda, Eleanor of Acquitaine, Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou) who found themselves cast as national leaders during times of crisis, Castor’s book is a gem of blood-and-thunder storytelling, packed with terrific vignettes. Through all the pitched battles, midnight intrigues and ritual disembowellings, the author weaves a subtle story of independent-minded women carrying out roles for themselves in an aggressively masculine world.’
The Culture, 3rd July 2011
Hardback
More power to the distaff by Jonathan Wright – The Tablet – 16th December 2010 (added 17th December)
‘Saved by The She-Wolves’ by Kathryn Hughes – The Mail on Sunday Review – 28 November 2010 – added 2nd December
‘The date is 1553. As the sickly boy-king Edward VI lies dying. England faces a terrible dilemma. The nine closest contenders to the throne are all female. Edward’s elder half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth lead the way, followed by a string of cousins including Lady Jane Grey.
…Combining top-notch scholarship with fizzing storytelling, Castor takes us back to England’s brutal early days.
…she works within her sources’ limitations to produce a fascinating account of a group of women who refused to do what they were told and, in the process, paved the way for England’s great female rulers – not just Elizabeth I but Victoria and, indirectly, our present Queen too.’
The Mail On Sunday Review, 28th November, p 13.
She Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Ellizabeth by Ian Mortimer – The Guardian – 6th November 2010 (added 7th November)
Margaret of Anjou and Eleanor of Aquitaine feature in a history book seen from a different angle by Trevor Royle – Herald Scotland – 25th October 2010 – (added 26 October)
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth: review by Simon Sebag Montefiore – The Telegraph – 19th October 2010 – (added 20th October)
A masterful account of Elizabeth I’s predecessors reviewed by Lisa Hilton – The Independent – 17th October 2010 -(added 17th October)
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth – Review by Anna Whitelock – The Telegraph – 17 October 2010 – (added 17th October)
She Wolves by Helen Castor – reviewed by Christina Hardyment – The Independent (15th October) – added 17th October
I am Albion, hear me roar by Hester Vaizey – Times Higher Education Supplement (14th October) – added 14th October.
‘Reaching the top in a very male world’ by Dominic Sandbrook – The Culture (The Sunday Times – 10 October 2010) – added 10th October.
‘…Helen Castor’s rollicking book focuses on four such extraordinary women, each of whom found herself cast as a national leader at a time of crisis and left an indelible mark on our medieval history….
…She-Wolves is the literary equivalent of a medieval banquet: long, rich and immensely enjoyable.”
The Culture, 10 October, p44-45
She Wolves by Jenny Uglow – FT.com (8th October) – added 9th October.
Daughters of Boudicca by Peter Marshall – Literary Review (8th October 2010) – added 8th October
Book Review: She-Wolves by Helen Castor by Roderick Graham Scotsman.com (3rd October 2010) – added 3rd October
