“A glorious example of romance in its most classic literary sense: exhilarating, exuberant, and rich with the jeweled tones of England in the 1300s.” —Austin ChronicleKatherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family. Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of … vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption. Anya Seton’s vivid rendering of the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster makes Katherine an unmistakable classic.
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One of my all time favorite novels
Written in 1954, this timeless historical fiction novel on Katherine Swynford ne De Roet (mistress and later third wife of John of Gaunt) is a story that I love to reread. While most may not have heard of her; you have certainly learned of her descendants as she is the original matriarch of the Tudor line. She was brought to the court of Edward …
Pariah, & Green Darkness are 2 that I couldn’t put down
This was a truly fascinating read! A friend lent it to me saying she had found it very hard to put down, and boy was she right! Despite it being a very long and involved story, I had to force myself every time I put it down, and read the entire 500 page book between Friday night and Monday afternoon (despite getting a headache).
Afterwards I …
I thought this book was a little long, but I love historical fiction and this was a good story.
One of my favorite books. This one should be made into a movie or miniseries
Probably the most readable historical novel about the life of Katherine Swynford and her lover-then-husband John of Gaunt. Their lives both apart and together weave their way through history and their eventual marriage creates the beginning of the English monarchy.
Really interesting piece of history.
I am not an expert on British history so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I found myself sympathetic to the main character and at the same time frustrated with her constant moaning, “Does he love me? He’s forgotten about me.” That got rather tedious. Great descriptions on and good dialog. And for the most part it was “clean.” Some …
I have leant much more history through the pages of well researched fiction than I ever learnt at school. Anya Seton’s ‘Katherine’ is a perfect example of how history can be brought to vivid life by the pen of a talented writer. I had heard of John of Gaunt certainly, but Anya Seton’s portrayal of the complex man and his intense relationship with …
Well written, wonderful book about a very interesting, inspiring, and intrepid woman. I learned a lot about life in her time, as well as finding the history “come alive.” Katherine endured so much, and contributed so much to history, even though many people do not know of her story. This was a favorite!
Nice to read a historical novel about someone that I hadn’t already read about like the queens/kings of England. Thought is was well done, and really was able to picture the events as I read.
Wonderful word picture of the times.
The novel is a brilliant evocation of the period in which it is set, a really fine rendering ofthe historical background. Not all that much is known of the life of Katherine Swinford but the author, Anya Seton, clearly did a lot of research about the background and history of the times and though we are not able o be certain that everything in the …
I read this book many years ago in hardcover and loved it. Historical fiction at its best.
I’m still reading this book and it’s costing me a lot in sleep…as I keep saying, “Just one more paragraph and then I’ll turn my Kindle off.” Even though I read a lot of historical fiction and kind of know what has happened to these characters, I am intrigued with this book and … if you don’t mind … I’ll leave it at that…. as I must go to …
A classic. Read the first time decades ago. Will read again. That good.
One of my very favorite books. I’ve read it twice & plan on reading it again. It’s history without you actually realizing your learning something. Most of Great Britain’s Royalty today derives from Katherine. It starts slow & to me when I first read it was boring then it started picking up. I just had to get back to reading it every night …
Katherine was an amazing woman, in my opinion. She is brought to life on the pages of this delightful book by Anya Seton. Her romance with John of Guant is legendary.
I enjoy historical novels..this is hard to put down