### The H Files by Helen Castor

Helen Castor

Historian, writer, broadcaster: Blood & Roses, She-Wolves, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, The Eagle and the Hart

The H Files by Helen Castor

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[4.4K+ subscribers](https://substack.com/@helencastor/subscribers)

• [#21 Rising in History](https://substack.com/leaderboard/18/rising?focusedPubId=3641688&backAction=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2F%40helencastor)

Activity Posts Likes & Replies Reads (95)

[**Helen Castor**](https://substack.com/@helencastor)

[4h](https://substack.com/@helencastor/note/c-281830446 "Jun 24, 2026, 7:21 AM")

The towers rise, the wheel of history turns…

This (and the whole series) is free to read - come build Notre-Dame with me!

[The H Files by Helen Castor](https://helencastor.substack.com/)

Building Notre-Dame #4

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[**Helen Castor**](https://substack.com/@helencastor) restacked

[**Ephie**](https://substack.com/@ephie1)

[4d](https://substack.com/@ephie1/note/c-279733028 "Jun 20, 2026, 12:46 PM")

This is precisely why I love when I find my favorite writers, like [Helen Pluckrose](https://substack.com/profile/100128629-helen-pluckrose) , [Helen Castor](https://substack.com/profile/39193859-helen-castor) , [Henry Oliver](https://substack.com/profile/2432388-henry-oliver) and a host of others on Substack.

[**Helen Pluckrose**](https://substack.com/@helenpluckrose)

[4d](https://substack.com/@helenpluckrose/note/c-279684371 "Jun 20, 2026, 11:11 AM")

This, as noted by my AI scheduler, really is the difference between how I typically write on Substack and how I write for external outlets.

Substack is where I think out loud about whatever has seized my interest. I often don’t know where a piece is going to end up. Writing is thinking. This saves my friends from getting thousand word te…

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[**Helen Castor**](https://substack.com/@helencastor) restacked

[**Naomi Alderman**](https://substack.com/@naomialderman)

[6d](https://substack.com/@naomialderman/note/c-276987220 "Jun 18, 2026, 2:41 PM")

I would like to create a “Couch to 5k” programme for reading. Starting with small amounts of daily reading, building our stamina up. Ending, I think, with ‘reading a book in a day’ as our version of the 5k. Do let me know if you’re interested - I want to run something and then iterate on it. I think this isn’t the kind of thing one can w…

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Actually: I have been thinking that I might try to put together a “Couch to 5k” programme for reading. Please do let me know in the comments or by PM if you’d like to be involved in trying such a thing out or have ideas for it?!