Helen Castor
Helen Castor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Helen Ruth Castor 4 August 1968 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Gonville and Caius College |
| Occupation(s) | Author Broadcaster |
| Children | 1 son |
| Website | www |
Helen Ruth Castor (born 4 August 1968 in Cambridge) is an English historian of the medieval period and a BBC broadcaster. She was a lecturer in history at Cambridge University and is the author of Blood & 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 graduated from The King's High School for Girls, Warwick, in 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 is a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College.[1][2][3]
Career
Castor was Director of History at Sidney Sussex College for eight years before focusing on writing and media.[1][2][3]
Broadcasting
Castor works 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 writes for the books pages of the Guardian, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Times Literary Supplement and the Times Educational Supplement.
Writing
Castor's book Blood and Roses (2004) is a biography of the fifteenth-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 BBC 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.
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.[6][7] BBC Four televised a three-part series based on the book in 2012, presented by Castor.[8][9]
Personal life
Castor lives in London with her son and husband.[2]
Books
- The King, the Crown, and the Duchy of Lancaster: Public Authority and Private Power, 1399-1461 (2000) Oxford University Press ISBN 0198206224
- Blood & Roses (2005) Faber and Faber [10]
- She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2010) Faber and Faber [10]
- Joan of Arc: A History (2014) Faber and Faber [10]
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[11]
Radio
- BBC Radio 4 - England: Made in the Middle (2016)
References
- ^ a b Profile at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
- ^ a b c Personal Website
- ^ a b Kings High School, Warwick. OGA
- ^ Radio and TV credits
- ^ longlist Samuel Johnson Prize
- ^ "Books of the year" 25 November 2011 The Guardian
- ^ Books info
- ^ BBC Four She Wolves, 2012
- ^ History Today 16 June 2011, "Interview: Helen Castor"
- ^ a b c Faber profile
- ^ "The Real Versailles - BBC Two". BBC. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
External links
- Personal Website
- Faber profile
- "Paperback Q&A: Helen Castor on She-Wolves" 11 October 2011 The Guardian
- Profile at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge