Katherine (Rediscovered Classics) [Paperback]

Anya Seton (Author), Philippa Gregory (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004 | Series: Rediscovered Classics

This classic romance novel tells the true story of the 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 14th 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 ruled 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 well-documented affair and love persist through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption. This epic novel of conflict, cruelty, and untamable love has become a classic since its first publication in 1954.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Seton breathes life into this little-documented historical fact…a glorious example of romance in its most classic literary sense." -- The Austin Chronicle

About the Author

Anya Seton was the author of 10 bestselling historical romances, including Avalon, Devil Water, Foxfire, Green Darkness, and My Theodosia. She lived in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155652532X
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525322
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (397 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

428 of 437 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A LOVE AFFAIR THAT ROCKED FOURTEENTH CENTURY ENGLAND... May 14, 2004

By Lawyeraau HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Written over half a century ago, this well-researched historical fiction is as vibrant and as stirring today, as it, undoubtedly, was when it was first written. A best seller in its day, the book regales the reader with the story of Katherine De Roet and John of Gaunt.

Born commoners to a herald who was knighted before he died, Katherine and her older sister Philippa, who went on to marry Geoffrey Chaucer, were left poor as church mice. While Philippa managed to obtain a post in the household of the Queen, wife to King Edward III of England, Katherine was sent to a convent.

When she had grown into her early teens and become a raving beauty, Katherine left the convent to join her sister at Court. Upon doing so, her youthful beauty captivated a boorish knight, Sir Hugh Swynford, who lusted after her. He, eventually, married Katherine, when it became clear that it would be the only way by which he could satisfy his desire.

At the same time that she met her husband to be, she also caught the eye of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III and brother to the heir to the throne, Edward, the Black Prince. John was, at the time, happily married to a beautiful woman named Blanche, who would befriend Katherine.

After reluctantly becoming Lady Swynford, Katherine retired to her husband's estates. She would meet John of Gaunt again, igniting a passion that upon the death of Blanche and that of Sir Hugh Swynford would be consummated. For John of Gaunt, Katherine would remain the love of his life and his mistress, even though, for reasons of state, he could not marry her, at the time. He, instead, married the heiress to the throne of Castile.

Still, Katherine remained with him, bearing him many children. Their illicit union was to cause much unrest and scandal throughout England, until they finally parted, only to reunite in their later years. John of Gaunt would then do something unprecedented. This act would bring them much happiness in their final years.

This is a richly drawn portrait of a scintillating love affair in a time that was rife with political intrigue. Set in a medieval landscape with all the pageantry, strife, and turbulence that constituted fourteenth century England, this beautifully written narrative is peppered with those characters and individuals that made the period memorable. It is a novel to be savored and one with which the most discerning reader would be well satisfied. Bravo!

239 of 248 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book I Have Ever Read March 19, 2004

By Maudeen Wachsmith VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I am so glad this book is now more readily available. It is my FAVORITE READ OF ALL TIME. It is a love story of epic proportions unlike anything I've ever read or experienced. This is truly a real-life fairytale.

Set in the mid 14th C. Katherine de Roet is a convent-raised young woman who, with her sister, comes under the care of Queen Philippa (wife of Edward III), and despite being without dowry marries the rather difficult Sir Hugh Swynford. Eventually she becomes the mistress of Philippa and Edward III's son John of Gaunt, and after bearing him four children, becoming his wife. The children's births are eventually legitimized and John and Katherine eventually are the forebears of both the Tudor and Stuart dynasties.

But this story is of the relationship between Katherine and John and the many twists and turns it takes before these lovers can be together. When Katherine turns 15 the Queen summons her from the convent to Windsor and she soon gathers much attention for her beauty. When Sir Hugh Swynford attempts to ravish her, the King's third son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster comes to her rescue. Hugh gets out of the situation by saying he wishes to marry the fair young maiden. Sir Hugh is a rather disagreeable and homely man, but it is seen as a step up for young Katherine, without dowry, to marry him. She does but very reluctantly. Meanwhile she is befriended by the Duke's wife, Blanche, and returns her friendship for which young Katherine is eventually richly rewarded.

Katherine and Hugh go to live at his mismanaged estate, Kettlethorpe, near Lincoln which is not too far from the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster's favorite home of Bolingbroke Castle. Katherine is not exactly happy but accepts her life. But when she befriends Blanche again and then sits with her as she lays dying from the black death, her whole life changes.

To give more details than this is to rob the first-time reader of the discoveries they will read. It is a story to particularly savor as when the Duke tells Katherine "She is my heart's blood. My life. I want nothing but her." Talk about a Cinderella story! Those better versed in English history of the mid to late 14th C than I am will realize just what is happening in some of the dramatic historical scenes than I did.

But even after Katherine and the Duke are finally together, all does not go well. Seton details the history of this time beautifully and, sometimes, painfully.

Seton includes quotes from Chaucer (who was married to Katherine's sister Philippa). It is also surmised Chaucer may have had Katherine in mind for some of his passages, particularly in "Troilus and Criseyde."

This book made slow reading for me as every few pages I was either picking up a historical reference to read more or searching on the internet. I do have to warn readers though, keep the hankies handy. I could have used an entire box and even woke my husband up with my sobbing. Most of these tears were tears of joy though.

Readers who enjoy their books both historically accurate and very romantic are sure to enjoy this beautiful story.

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings to life a woman who was quite important to history October 9, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Library Binding

I first read this book I was fourteen. Since then I've acquired both hardback and paperback. I read it about three or four times a year, my favorite parts being the Christmas scene and the pilgrimage. As did some of the other reviewers, this book whetted my appetite for medieval history. Katherine Swynford is remarkably free of the histrionics that unfortunately seem to characterize so many historical romance heroines. John's and Katherine's daily lives are realistically portrayed, such as John keeping Katherine as a mistress while he marries for power. Ms. Seton doesn't shrink from depicting the filth and disease rampant in that time period either. Nor does she shirk from depicting the terrible position women occupied in that time period, as when she writes of how Katherine was forced to marry Hugh Swynford. He's also portrayed fairly--a ruffian certainly, but a man who falls love deeply, having nothing in his experience to prepare him. He doesn't metamorphose into a wonderful person as a result of this love. Undoubtedly Katherine would really have been as resentful of him as she is portrayed. Love doesn't exactly triumph in this novel, rather it wins by sheer dogged persistence, as when John and Katherine are finally together when they are middle-aged and free of their other social and personal restrictions. I also enjoyed the religious aspect of the book, in which Katherine goes on a vision quest, or spirit journey, gaining hardwon inner peace. Lady Julian's quotes made me cry, while Julian's prescriptions for Katherine's anemia made me laugh out loud. Katherine's hungering for and finding peace and true oneness with Spirit is a nice contrast to all the bloodbath over doctrinal trivialities. It makes a nice comparison between piousness and spiritual fulfillment. Ms. Seton also points out, using Katherine's treatment by the people of Lincoln, and in the hardship of running her estate, how that inner peace gets buffeted by the world. It's not portrayed as being easy, as indeed it isn't. She includes a similar quest in Avalon and Green Darkness, but it's best portrayed in Katherine. Ms. Seton writes about spirit journeys without making them sentimental or hackneyed. I'm glad it's still in print and that women are passing it on to their daughters. It's the way historical romances should be done.