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Loading... Katherine (original 1954; edition 2004)by Anya Seton, Philippa Gregory (Foreword)
Work InformationKatherine by Anya Seton (1954)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This is a love story. A fourteenth century story to be exact. Katherine Swynford has loved John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster ever since she first laid eyes on him as a young girl of thirteen. As a commoner, predestined to marry a lowly knight, Katherine's standing in society is, at best, only to be a lady-in-waiting for the Duchess of Lancaster. That is as close as she can get to the man of her dreams. Yet, meeting the duke has sealed her fate. The saga that follows spans three generations of life and love. Seton does a fantastic job weaving true history with a fabricated backstory of romance. If you get the chance, listen to the audio version. It's fantastic. I had not heard of Katherine Swynford, but I had heard vaguely of John of Gaunt. This 14th century English novel tells the story of their relationship and their love. John of Gaunt was the Duke of Lancaster and the son of King Edward III and the father of King Henry IV, I did get lost in the names at times, but to remain historically accurate, the names couldn't be changed. I got lost in all the Philipas! This book felt like it was true to the spirit and lives of the time period, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learning about someone I had not known before. (While I listened to the book on audio, I had a printed copy also.)
""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 Chronicle Katherine 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 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"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.52Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1900-1944LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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It’s on lots of lists as one of the best romance novels of all time, and maybe it’s because it was, I guess, one of the first true historical romances? I’ll grant that it may be important to the history of the genre, but it’s nothing special as far as the writing goes or the romance itself. It’s just…okay. But certainly not good enough for its length. ( )