Helen Castor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helen Castor

FRSL
Castor in 2015
Castor in 2015
BornHelen Ruth Castor
(1968-08-04) 4 August 1968 (age 53)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
OccupationAuthor
Broadcaster
EducationGonville and Caius College

Helen Ruth Castor FRSL (born 4 August 1968 in Cambridge) 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 (2005) and She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2010). Programmes she has presented include BBC Radio 4's Making History and She-Wolves on BBC Four.

Early life and education[]

Helen Castor attended The King's High School for Girls, Warwick from 1979-1986, and then completed a BA and a PhD at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. She was elected to a Research Fellowship at Jesus College. She was a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, and is now a Bye-fellow.[1][2][3]

Career[]

Castor was Director of Studies in History at Sidney Sussex College for eight years before focusing on writing and media.[1][2][3]

Broadcasting[]

Castor has worked extensively for the BBC including presenting Radio 4's Making History and She-Wolves on BBC Four.[4] In 2013 she was a member of the winning team on Christmas University Challenge, representing Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Literary review[]

She has written for the books pages of The Guardian, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, The Times Literary Supplement and The Times Educational Supplement.

Writing[]

Castor's book Blood and Roses (2005) is a biography of the 15th-century Paston family, 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 for non-fiction in 2005.[5] It was also awarded the Beatrice White Prize for outstanding scholarly work in the field of English literature before 1590, by the English Association in 2006.[6]

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.[7][8] BBC Four televised a three-part series based on the book in 2012, presented by Castor.[9][10]

Castor wrote the volume on Elizabeth I for the series Penguin Monarchs, Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity, published in 2018.[11]

Castor was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.[12][13]

Personal life[]

Castor lives in London with her husband and son.[14] Her sister is the children's author, Harriet Castor Jeffrey.[15]

Books[]

  • The King, the Crown, and the Duchy of Lancaster: Public Authority and Private Power, 1399–1461 (2000) Oxford University Press ISBN 0198206224
  • Blood and Roses (2004) Faber and Faber[16]
  • She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2010) Faber and Faber [16]
  • Joan of Arc: A History (2014) Faber and Faber [16]
  • Elizabeth I (Penguin Monarchs): A Study in Insecurity (2018) Penguin [11]

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[17]
  • 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[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Profile at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Personal Website. Archived 2018-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Kings High School, Warwick. OGA Archived 2014-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Radio and TV credits Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Pauli, Michelle (2005-04-20). "Samuel Johnson longlist celebrates variety". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  6. ^ "Beatrice White Prize - Previous Winners". English Association. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  7. ^ "Books of the year" Archived 2017-04-06 at the Wayback Machine 25 November 2011 The Guardian
  8. ^ Books info Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ BBC Four She Wolves, 2012 Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ History Today Archived 2012-06-10 at the Wayback Machine 16 June 2011, "Interview: Helen Castor"
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Penguin Books
  12. ^ Natasha Onwuemezi, "Rankin, McDermid and Levy named new RSL fellows" Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine, The Bookseller, 7 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Current RSL Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Helen Castor | Authors | Faber & Faber".
  15. ^ http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/helen_castor.asp
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c Faber profile Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "The Real Versailles – BBC Two". BBC. Archived from the original on 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2016-07-23.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""