Katherine arrives at the english court through the offices of the queen and is soon married to hugh, duke of swynford, a smallminded, brutal man who offers the dowryless girl the cachet of title. There are a few differences, but both books are definitely worth reading and should not be pitted against each other but read as stand alone books and enjoyed. The story of john of gaunt and his scandalous duchess isbn 0224063219 and jeannette lucrafts historical biography katherine. Mar, 2006 katherine is a classic, high quality historical romance, in a class with gone with the wind, which i first read a couple of years later, and the diana gabaldon books. She is fortunate in this pairing, although katherine detests her rude husband from the moment she sets eyes on him. The katherine of the title is katherine swynford, mistress of edward iiis son john of gaunt. The chief exception to this is, of course, anya seton s famous novel written in the 1950s, which fully endows katherine with the romantic image of the woman who, despite not being of noble birth, was to become the ancestress of the yorkist kings and the royal lines of the tudors and stuarts.
She is a very fine writer with excellent attention to detail and historical accuracy, as well the ability to make the characters come vividly alive. Blanche, duchess of lancasters death from bubonic plague at bolingbroke castle. Katherine swynford is the subject of numerous novels, including anya seton s katherine, published in 1954. For me, 2 of the most dramatic parts of seton s novel are. It was my first introduction to her work and, in fact, i think it was the first book i read that dealt with real historical figures rather than fictional characters in a historical setting. Katherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed historythat of katherine swynford and john of gaunt, duke of lancaster, the ancestors of most of the british royal family. Katherine is a classic, high quality historical romance, in a class with gone with the wind, which i first read a couple of years later, and the diana gabaldon books.
I thought i was the only person disappointed in anya seton s book on katherine, for me it didnt quite hit the mark and the comments you made about it made me realise why. Apr 08, 2018 this is probably setons most famous novel. Anya seton s increasingly rare classic historical novel, still as popular today as when it first appeared. A view of anya setons family through her novels duration. Katherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed historythat of katherine swynford and john of gaunt, duke of lancaster, the ancestors of most of the. It tells the story of the historically important, 14thcentury love affair in england between the eponymous katherine swynford and john of gaunt, duke of lancaster, the third surviving son of king edward iii. Three of her books are classics in their genre and continue in their popularity to the present. For katherine is one of the great reads, indeed, one of the great novels, of the twentieth century. I write what i write, historical romance set around the court of edward iii, because of anya seton s book, so there is no question it is among my all time favorites. Go on try it, it makes history interesting, as well as romantic, battles, powerful men, ruthless men, intrigue, and sorrow.
Oct 01, 20 anya seton s vivid rendering of the lives of the duke and duchess of lancaster makes katherine an unmistakable classic. I understand that even today her books are much in demand and tend to fly off the shelves at used book stores. Katherine is the story of katherine swynford, the mistress and eventual wife of john of gaunt, and their children, who were the direct ancestors of the tudors, stuarts, and the modern british royal family. She had been the dukes lover for many years before their marriage. Weir is such a brilliant, thorough historian, i have no doubt this will bring to katherine swynford her historical due. Katherine, named after its title character katherine swynford, first intrigued me because of its fourteenth century setting. Anya seton was a careful researcher her father was naturalist and writer ernest thompson seton and she rarely substituted dramatic license in place of the facts. Alison weirs historical follow up to anya seton s 1954 book which introduced us to the mistresswife of john of gaunt. This classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed historythat of katherine swynford and john of gaunt, duke of lancaster, the ancestors of most of the british royal family. This book is both a spiritual coming of age tale and a hauntinglybeautiful love story.
Katherine swynford, wife of john of gaunt duke of lancaster. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It tells the story of the historically important, 14thcentury love affair in england between the eponymous katherine swynford and john of gaunt, duke of lancaster, the third surviving son of king edward iii in 2003, katherine was ranked 95 in the bbcs big read survey of britains bestloved novels. In reality, blanche died at tutbury castle one month after the birth of her 3rd daughter, isabella. Originally published in 1954, it has become an urtext.
I read the anya seton book, and i knew it probably wasnt quite like that, so when i saw a book on katherine swinford i may have pounced on it. Anya seton wrote some other good books, but make no mistake this is her masterpiece. The naive conventeducated orphan of a penniless knight is dazzled by the jousts and the entertainments of court. Katherine is based on the true story of katherine swynford and john of gaunt from 14th century england. I suspect that the same factors that inspired anya seton to write about katherine swynford may also be responsible for removing katherine as a subject for further historical study. Sep 29, 2006 love in the time of green darkness dont judge anya seton s reissued biofics by their romance and bad covers by margaret moser, fri. Setons book brings the characters and period to life and weirs sorts out fact from fiction and delves into the. Jan 01, 2000 a glorious example of romance in its most classic literary sense. I am 78 now and reading your page was like opening a door on my past. Thanks to kindle for letting me enjoy anya seton s book all over again. Anya seton s vivid rendering of the lives of the duke and duchess of lancaster makes katherine an unmistakable classic.
Katherine swynford, duchess of scandal history the. I remember staying up all night i was so engrossed, and when the time came for me to go to school the next day, taking the book with me and reading it in class. Katherine, the story of katherine swynford, the mistress and eventual wife of john of gaunt, and their children. It tells the story of the historically important, 14thcentury love affair in england between the eponymous katherine swynford and john of gaunt.
Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption. Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of chaucer and the black death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent. A great adventure, powerfully told philippa gregory a sumptuous tale of passion and danger in the medieval court, anya seton s katherine is an alltime classic. The life of katherine swynford, duchess of lancaster has just hit the bookstores. John, a younger son of king edward iii, was one of the richest and most powerful men of his day. Katherine, published in 1954 and never since out of print, tells the story of katherine swynford, the mistress and later.
Apr 06, 20 katherine swynford scandalous simplified history 50. Jun 06, 2017 in 2008 weir wrote her own biography of katherine. A glorious example of romance in its most classic literary sense. I have read both, along with jeannette lucrafts katherine swynford.
It made such an impression on me that, years later, i bought and read anya seton s green darkness, published in 1972, solely on the strength of the authors name. Kimberlys mention of the plans to film katherine fascinates me. Hodder have repackaged anya setons classic under their hodder great reads imprint, and what better choice. Mar 17, 2012 actual medieval manor in which the real katherine swynford, 3rd wife of john of gaunt and ancestress to the tudor line, lived. Like thousands of people the world over i read anya setons wonderful book katherine about katherine swynford when i was a teenager. Written in 1954 it predates much of the modern popularity for historical fiction but can easily hold its own against any modern author of this genre. Katherine comes to the court of edward iii at the age of fifteen.
Katherine is a 1954 historical novel by american author anya seton. Swynford is also the subject of nonfiction work, such as alison weirs 2008 biography katherine swynford. Within this era of danger and romance, john of gaunt, the kings son, falls passionately in love with the alreadymarried katherine. Katherine swynford is a women from history that is often overlooked but this book puts her right at the centre and what a wonderful read it is as a result. She is the main character in anya seton s katherine. Katherine swynford from mistress to duchess history of. Beginning almost exactly where my book i serve leaves off, it tells the story of the woman destined to be the ancestress of the tudor family. Back then it was their equivalent of fifty shades, but by contemporary standards its pretty buttoned up. Ann seton was born in new york, new york, and died in old greenwich, connecticut. This assignment is both an absolute joy and something of a challenge. This is of course a very fine and entertaining story.
Anya seton 1904 1990 was the author of many bestselling historical novels, including the winthrop woman, avalon, dragonwyck, green darkness, devil water, and foxfire. Austin chroniclekatherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed historythat of katherine swynford and john of gaunt, duke of lancaster, the ancestors of most of the british royal family. Anya seton january 23, 1904 although the year is often misstated to be 1906 or 1916 november 8, 1990 was the pen name of the american author of historical romances, ann seton. When i was 12 my mother brought me the book katherine by anya seaton, some of it i did not understand, but the history of it was to me wonderful. Katherine swynford, i named my daughter after her when i read anya seton s book.
1445 703 243 24 1182 904 281 376 640 1014 63 509 476 777 415 167 1331 485 605 978 786 53 1494 1067 21 832 975 630 787 401 1051 1338 1431 678 553 240 1472 750 183 443 537 369 843