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Katherine (Rediscovered Classics) Paperback – May 1, 2004

by Anya Seton (Author), Philippa Gregory (Foreword)
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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.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    512 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Chicago Review Press
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    155652532X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1556525322
  8. See all details
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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

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 155652532X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1556525322
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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Anya Seton

Anya Seton

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Anya Seton (January 23, 1904 – November 8, 1990) was the pen name of Ann Seton Chase, an American author of historical romances, or as she preferred they be called, "biographical novels".

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
6,271 global ratings
A Book You'll want in your Library for repeated re-readings
5 Stars
A Book You'll want in your Library for repeated re-readings
What they said.Seriously, I can't believe so many people wrote what I was going to say! This is one of those books you will want to read many times. I'm on #4 but it's the first time on Kindle. I am an English history buff, and reading Katherine was like nirvana! It even helped me when I got to college and took English History for a grade! I remember so much more from this novel than from any history book!It is the most romantic, obstacle ridden love story I have ever read, with the possible exception of Scarlett and Rhett. It is long book but you won't want it to end. I spent many a night reading my aunt's hard copy by flashlight under the covers back when I was a teen with a bedtime!It's set during the time of Edward III, and against the backdrop of the Wars of the Roses that followed his death. History books will mention the importance of John of Gaunt in being the progenitor or the Tudors, through his Beaufort daughter. Katherine is rarely mentioned, other than as his mistress. This is her story. Meticulously researched and written in a style that brings the history alive!, it is compelling as any I've ever read. world lost a true talent when Anya Seton left it.
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Top reviews from the United States

Denise E. Mainquist
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction at its best
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2024
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I selected this book because Katherine Swynford and John go Gaunt are my ancestors (20 generations). I have read many books about many of my ancestors, but this one blows the others away. It is historical fiction, so the basic details of Katherine’s life guide the story, but many of the fine details are not likely true. But as good historical fiction does, this story helped me fill in motivations, emotions and nuance that is often missing in purely historical accounts. And the details about life in the 14th century are fantastic. This is a beautiful and very readable story that does not require an ancestral connection to enjoy.
5 people found this helpful
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Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Very great detailed read on Katherine Swynford's life.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
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You hear a ton about John of Gaunt, so it was nice to get information on his life. Through vivid settings and thorough character development, this take takes us from childhood to Katherine's twilight years. I really enjoyed this one.
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Michele
4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2010
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Katherine is widely regarded as Anya Seton's finest book, and is still a popular classic in its genre over 50 years after it was first published. There are several reasons why this book has endured and is still so well-loved by so many.

First, in Katherine Anya Seton completely immerses the reader in 14th century England. This is an era that, 600 years later, we tend to view through a soft-focus lens, remembering it as a romantic and chivalric period of castles, knights, courtly manners and beautiful and elaborate clothing. However, Seton's writing removes the rosy glow and depicts the late 1300s in as realistic a way as possible for a 20th century writer; she reminds us that life in a castle was cold, damp, moldy, smelly (unwashed bodies and poor sanitation), and ridden with sickness, lice and fleas. And yet this time period is still compelling with its tournaments, courtly intrigue, and social structure so different from our own. It was a world so drastically different from what we know that we are still fascinated by it.

Secondly, Katherine is a successful book because it is so full and satisfying; it is like eating a seven-course meal. When you are finished you feel that it is complete and nothing has been left out. Anya Seton found her niche in the writing world by focusing on real women who had actually lived, but who were (with the exception of Katherine Swynford) minor players never on the center stage of their society, and who had been forgotten over time by all but perhaps a few elite scholars. She took such characters, what few facts about them she could discover in her research, and, using her own fertile imagination, recreated their lives. Because her subjects were heretofore unknown to her readers, Seton was able to form their personalities and motives as she pleased and make them her own.

She does this in spades with Katherine. As she says in her Author's Note at the beginning of the book, few documented facts exist about Katherine Swynford's life. Therefore, the majority of this 500-page book (and very small print at that) is the result of Seton's own vivid and gifted imagination. This is really less a love story about John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford than it is a life story of Katherine herself, complete with a large cast of major and minor players. The result is a story that is full, detailed and multi-textured, just as Katherine's life probably actually was. Seton vividly portrays her characters and develops their personalities and motivations in ways that are completely credible to the reader. Having read all of Anya Seton's books, I can say that they are never contrived; never do you feel that she is forcing the plot to go in the direction she wishes it to. Always the direction of the story seems to emerge from the characters themselves and their decisions; such is the ability of a gifted writer.

The only drawback that I could find in this book, and the reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5, is that at times the pace drags. There were several places where I found myself thumbing ahead (although I would always go back to where I was and keep reading until it got more interesting!)

If you like modern-style romances with their graphic and titillating love scenes, then you won't like Katherine or any other older romance book for that matter. This is an old-style romance (which is the best kind in my opinion) where the intimacy is only alluded to.

But if you want to be transported back to the 14th century and read about a real-life woman who was fascinating in her ability to capture and hold the love of the wealthiest and most powerful man in England at the time, then this is it. I was a little sad to see the book end, I wasn't quite ready to return to the 21st century. :) This is one I will doubtless read again someday. Enjoy.
21 people found this helpful
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tnixon
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite historical novels
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024
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I read Katherine over 30 years ago and I loved it then and love it now. Beautiful writing and a compelling love story ans historical adventure.
4 people found this helpful
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Alphia D. Larkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Obsession!
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2008
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I am obsessed with this book! It is one of the best novels that I have read in many, many years and I cannot get KAtherine and her cohorts out of my mind. I am an avid reader, I read all the time, and have since I was a child; I am now an old woman, a great grandmother, so I have read a lot of books! It is not the first novel that I have read that was written by Anya Seton, and I have loved her other books, also. "Green Darkness" is as good as "Katherine" but is not based on real people that can be traced back to the English Royal family of modern day, all the characters in "Green Darkness" are fictional, whereas they are/were real people that Anya wrote about in "Katherine." It is a fascinating story, and tells you better than anything that I have ever read that the royal family came from very ordinary human beings, just like the rest of us commom folks. Though they were royals, their morals were not any better than the present lot of royalty as we know it today. I mean, how can Charles have high morals and treat Diana like he did, sneaking around with Camilla Parker Bowles? Both were married to other people at the time and blatantly commited adultery! There was also gallantry and great bravery in the ranks of the royals then, as now. Prince Harry has proven that not all royals are pampered namby-pambys. But the story of Katherine Swynford and John o' Gault is a real love story, between two honorable human beings. It is so interesting to me that their children are the parents and grandparents, etc., in other words, the ancestors of the ruling family that is still in power over the British empire today. Also interesting is the fact that a lot of their ancestors were illegitimate, and sprang from Katherine and John. When you read this book, you are going to be spending a lot of time on the Internet researching the characters, and you will find that Ms. Seton is fairly accurate on all of her facts. Historically speaking, it is like an encyclopedia on life in the 14th Century. Though I finished reding the book a few weeks ago, I am still on the Internet looking up different characters from the story and am learning more details about all of them. Almost every character in the book can be authenticated through Google. A few characteristics have been changed but does not effect the realism of the book. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, but even if you are not all that intent on finding out about life in Mediaeval England, it is still a great and wonderful love story. And while enjoying the love story, you can learn a small bit of history as well.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Vania
5.0 out of 5 stars Veio tudo certo!
Reviewed in Brazil on September 24, 2023
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O livro estava novo, como dizia o anúncio, e foi entregue rapidamente
Recomendo fortemente o vendedor!
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J G Weller
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2024
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Love it. This is the best book ever. I have read it before, and enjoyed it just as much second time around.

The most wonderful love story of the middle ages, and you get a glimpse of life back in the 14th century. Of the court of Edward 111, and of life on a knights manor, when serfs were tied to the manor and their feudal lord.
The enduring love between Katherine Swynford, a humble knight's daughter, and John of Gaunt, the powerful 3rd son of Edward 111. It is a must for all lovers of history.
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JEM
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Research
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2020
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I appreciated the research which delved into the history of both Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt. John of Gaunt's father, King Edward III had eleven children. Genealogists should be aware that approximately 98% of those who have an English heritage are descended from John of Gaunt's father, King Edward III. Since John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford's granddaughter Lady Joan Beaufort married King James I of Scotland, many with a Scottish heritage are also descended from King Edward III. For those who have discovered such a relationship, this book is fascinating.
2 people found this helpful
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Wendy
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in France on June 22, 2017
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Excellent livre à lire et à relire! Tous les livres de l'auteur sont à avoir dans sa bibliothèque mais celui-ci est mon préféré.
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Suzanne Andersson
5.0 out of 5 stars A love unlike any other: Katherine and her Duke
Reviewed in Australia on May 1, 2022
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I fell in love with Katherine many long years ago. I dreamt of a love like theirs. The passion; the knowing of each other; their reading each other’s minds; knowing each other’s thoughts!
I finally read their story again, 30 years later.
I; myself; have finally found a love such as this; in my latter years. I have found a love and passion I never knew was possible; we even complete each other’s thoughts… thank you Anya Seton for bringing their love and passion to life!
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