She-Wolves: England's Early Queens

This is a great little (too limited) series. It has some interesting insights that are new to us. And it is presented well.

The few problems were (and this is absolutely personal), we did not appreciate seeing a bird of prey tearing apart his meal. Nope, we are not into nature films that show things getting killed and eaten.

In the second episode, the sound mix was so distracting, we were unable to finish watching it. At times, it was impossible to hear her speak when she wasn't on camera. The music and noises overwhelmed her voice.

It was enlightening to see where the incidents of the She-Wolf Queens took place, and the paintings and buildings. Especially the castles.

It would be nice to have more of these episodes.

Helen Castor knows her subject and presents a straightforward and intelligent chronology without the usual appeal to vicarious empathy which mars so much of TV's portrayal of women in history. The BBC4 series is a BBC Scotland production, which means that it is well-written and presented by an expert in the field, a welcome change from the usual patronising treatment of history on television, which makes a presumption of absolute ignorance and low attention-span in its audience. For those of us who, like me, needed gaps filling in our knowledge of Plantagenet and Tudor English History, or those to whom this is all new, this unfussy presentation by the delightful Ms Castor is thoroughly recommended.

More women need to be included in the heading of "she-wolves" of Britain, especially the earlier women such as Aethelflaed, and of course Boadicea.