Description

‘Highly readable, exciting and thought-provoking’ – Hilary Mantel

‘A gem of blood-and-thunder storytelling’ – Dominic Sandbrook

In medieval England, man was the ruler of woman, and the King was the ruler of all. How, then, could royal power lie in female hands?

In She-Wolves, celebrated historian, Helen Castor, tells the dramatic and fascinating stories of four exceptional women who, while never reigning queens, held great power: Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou. These were women who paved the way for Jane Grey, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I – the Tudor queens who finally confronted what it meant to be a female monarch.

Publisher Review

"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