She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth

Description

When Edward VI - Henry VIII's longed-for son - died in 1553, extraordinarily, there was no one left to claim the title King of England. For the first time, all the contenders for the crown were female. In 1553, England was about to experience the 'monstrous regiment' - the unnatural rule - of a woman. But female rule in England also had a past. Four hundred years before Edward's death, Matilda, daughter of Henry I and granddaughter of William the Conquerer, came tantalisingly close to securing her hold on the power of the crown. And between the 12th and the 15th centuries three more exceptional women - Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, and Margaret of Anjou - discovered, as queens consort and dowager, how much was possible if the presumptions of male rule were not confronted so explicitly. The stories of these women - told here in all their vivid humanity - illustrate the paradox which the female heirs to the Tudor throne had no choice but to negotiate. Man - was the head of woman; and the king was the head of all. How, then, could a woman be king, how could royal power lie in female hands?

Helen Castor is a historian of medieval England, and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Her last book, Blood and Roses, a biography of the 15th century Paston family, was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2005 and won the English Association's Beatrice White Prize in 2006. She lives in London with her husband and son.

"[Helen Castor is] an accomplished and elegant historian."--Miranda Seymour, New York Times Book Review "A fascinating biography of four powerful English queens...An insightful look at issues still relevant today, related by an accomplished historian and storyteller."--Kirkus Reviews "A fascinating biography...An insightful look at issues still relevant today, related by an accomplished historian and storyteller."--Kirkus Reviews "A gripping book . . . "She-Wolves" is a superb history of the powerful women who have surrounded England's throne, combining blood-drenched drama, politics, sex and swordplay with scholarly analysis, symptahy for the plight of women and elegant writing."--Simon Sebag Montefiore, Daily Telegraph (London) "Beautifully narrated . . . learned and exciting. This is medieval history at its best."--Evening Standard "Castor has done a masterful job of outlining the burdens these women faced. . . . Readers of popular history of British royals will enjoy their immensely human stories."--Library Journal "Castor skillfully combines this analysis with driving narratives, using vivd details from contemporary chronicles to bring those distant days alive. "She-Wolves" makes one gasp at the brutality of medieval power struggles--and at the strength and vitality of the women who sought to wield royal power."--Jenny Uglow, Financial Times "Castor's deep research will please European, military, and women's historians, while [her] tight storytelling makes this unusually fine royal history enjoyable reading for casual readers."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Exceptional, even inspirational reading."--BookPage "Helen Castor's very readable "She-Wolves" is . . . full of beautiful, imperiled ladies; fearless knights; and remarkable, often unbelievable turns of fortune. . . . Castor is a fine scholar and an equally fine storyteller."--Cleveland Plain Dealer