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Idris and the Knights is a book to make young people think about race and gender roles. It has a female hero making her way into unfamiliar surroundings where she meets and interacts with several different people with radically different personalities and views about the world. It is set in the fictional kingdom of Alonia; a mountainous region of medieval Europe where old ideas are strictly adhered to and new ones are viewed with suspicion.

The entire tale recounts the ups and downs of Idris’ battle to become a knight; it is split into three parts. Each book comes as a PDF document which can be displayed on an interactive board so that it can be used as a class reader or printed off to be read to the class. Each book also has a Powerpoint presentation that contains open ended questions for each chapter. This is included in the hope that discussion will show that the world is not a place where black and white answers are usual, especially when dealing with interpersonal relationships or personal perspectives when dealing with tricky situations.

The first book explains how Idris (a girl of Indian heritage, with a name that is mistaken for Welsh) arrives in the kingdom. The story reveals the reasons why she wants to become a squire (a strictly controlled male role in medieval times,) and eventually a fully fledged knight; the first female knight in all the land. Naturally, because of the era in which the story is set and the fixed ideas and prejudices of some of the people she encounters, Idris has an uphill battle. However, thanks to a very forward thinking monarch, Idris is accepted into the ranks of the squires, but she gets off to a very shaky start. Her first tutor makes it quite plain that he only wants to use her as an unpaid skivvy to complete all his dirty chores. Frustrated beyond all measure, Idris rebels and challenges the knight to a duel. After an epic battle, Idris overcomes her foe, but he refuses to back down. At this point the king intervenes and the cheating knight is punished by having to undertake a task that he had wanted Idris to complete. Pleased that she has won a victory against such overwhelming odds Idris is then ready to move to her next tutor.
The story then continues on Book II. Idris and the Knights. Sir Beaufort, Sir Kipalot, Sir Vainglorious & Sir Edward de Pencil.