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    Katherine: A Novel
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    Katherine: A Novel
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    Katherine: A Novel
    Audiobook23 hours

    Katherine: A Novel

    Written by Anya Seton

    Narrated by Wanda McCaddon

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the classic romance Katherine 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Audio
    Release dateMar 25, 2011
    ISBN9781452671093
    Unavailable
    Katherine: A Novel
    Author

    Anya Seton

    ANYA SETON (1904–1990) was the author of many best-selling historical novels, including Katherine, Avalon, Dragonwyck, Devil Water, and Foxfire. She lived in Greenwich, Connecticut.

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    Reviews for Katherine

    4/5

    769 ratings48 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is an epic book that transports you to the 14th Century.A very enjoyable read, whioch was hard to put down. It took a while to get into the story, but this initial effort was rewarded many fold and was needed to give you the backdrop to the story and the characters. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone intersted in historical fiction, it is really in-depth and captivates you. It tells the story of the romance between Katherine Swynton and John of Gaunt, whose love affair led to the Tudor Dynasty. It has left me wanting to read more historical fiction from this period and also more about Katherine Swynton.
      Just make sure you give the time to get the most from this book, it is a classic.
    • 3/5
      Engaging novel about Katherine, the mistress and later third wife of John of Gaunt. I did find some of Seton's plotting odd. Katherine and John become lovers, then the novel fast-forwards to a time when they have a couple of children and he has married someone else for political purposes. Dramatic events that aren't really explored. And I found it hard to believe that John would leave his mistress behind with no attendants/guards in London caring for her sick child during the Peasants Revolt. The Savoy is burnt down and Katherine, now the mother of four of Gaunt's children and John don't contact one another for years. Wouldn't he have sent one of his men to check on her? Wouldn't they speak about a separation? This was so bizarre I had to google Katherine, and it seems it was Seton's own weird invention.I was also disappointed that Seton depicted the love-affair as solely physical infatuation. Surely if Katherine had been chosen to be the governess of the Duke's earlier children she must have had some intellect, and as their relationship continued for so many years I would have hoped that there was a meeting of minds too, and that Katherine was able to understand and discuss and even help John in his role as one of the most powerful men of his age.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written and well researched. One of the best historical romances I have ever read.
    • 3/5
      beautifully written book about the intertwined lives of Katherine and John, the Duke of Lancaster. Slowly developed scenes, with rich descriptions of the life and times of these historical figures. Took a long time to listen to, but I was glad I spent the time with the book.
    • 4/5
      i have only read a couple of chapters of the book; but Wow! this is history coming alive. having been born in Gillingham, the journey from Sheppey to Windsor was a good start. Thank you Anya :)
    • 2/5
      Very slow read. Well written, but it wasn't enough for me.
    • 4/5
      Katherine by Anya Seton was written in 1954 and is the archetypical medieval Historical Romance. Seton created a work of timeless historical fiction. The writing style is clear and easy to read. The author uses language and words of the era which need to be looked up to be understood and which add authenticity. Her research is impeccable. We follow the life of commoner, Katherine Swynford during the late 1300's from her girlhood, first marriage, motherhood and follows her adultery, separation and eventual marriage with John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. The author seamlessly weaves together medieval life, fashions and history. Katherine and John's romance is set against the backdrop of the Courts of Edward III and Richard II, her brother in law Geoffrey Chaucer, Wat Tyler and the Peasant's Revolt and the Hundred Years War.The characterizations are a bit shallow, especially for John who is fairly two dimensional. I initially found Katherine mature but with the start of her romance her behaviour changes and her moods and actions become erratic. After the destruction of the Savoy Palace, Katherine goes on Pilgrimage to atone for her sins and ends up coming under the influence of Julian of Norwich. I knew nothing of this English mystic and was interested to find she was an actual religious figure in history. The pace and writing then barrelled on to its conclusion of the marriage of our two protagonists and the story ended quickly. While I enjoyed Katherine and respect its status as a progenitor of its genre, it wasn't the best historical novel I've read. All in all, a good, not great read.
    • 5/5
      Katherine
      5 Stars

      The amazing true story of the relationship between Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt. The epic love story between these two historical figures comes to life in this amazingly well-written and well-researched work.
    • 2/5
      I was quite disappointed in this book after hearing how many people loved it. It was difficult to engage with the main characters and I found myself more interested in what might have happened to some of the minor characters and wishing that they were more developed. The book is too long by miles. Seton says in the introduction she spent three years doing research, and she never lets you forget it. I was disappointed she does not really give any of her sources. (I know, I know, it is a novel, but she does bang on about her research.


      It was interesting to read it in conjunction with the 'Medieval Mind' season that is currently running on BBC4, if only to realise how un-medieval the characterisations are..


      The book did make me do some independant research and sparked some interesting discussion in my reading group, so it was not a total waste.
    • 4/5
      What a time to live through! Chaucer, plague, peasant's revolt. I love the way this book has fixed the history in my mind. It has made vivid to me the way people lived, how they were different and how they were the same. It has become one of the points I return to, and other historical events happened before or happened after - and often connected by a spiderweb of people, or places. There are so many connections that it must have been a fulcrum - an important time that leads even to the present.
    • 5/5
      This is a very famous historical novel about the life of Katherine Swynford, mistress and later wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who through their legitimised Beaufort children are the ancestors of the Tudors and all subsequent English and British monarchs. It is extremely well written and describes 14th century life and places very colourfully and in great detail. While usually described as a romance novel, it is no Mills and Boon type romance, but a serious historical novel about a relationship that in retrospect is one of the most significant in English history. While enjoying this, it does have a slightly stilted feel in places, perhaps due to when it was written (1954) so I can't quite give it the maximum rating, so 4.5/5. [My Kindle version is unfortunately stuffed full of typos - it's about time the publisher Hodder & Stoughton sorted this out].
    • 4/5
      I very much enjoyed this blast from the past. Don't know how I managed to not read Seton when I was much younger.
    • 2/5
      Solid, engaging historical fiction about the mistress of John of Gaunt who was the ancestress of the Tudors. Rich with period detail. The part that makes me knock the rating down is the horrible passage wherein Katherine becomes a guilt-ridden Christian who repudiates her own happiness. It was such a jarring disconnect and so typical of everything I loathe about Christianity that it spoiled the book for me. It's hard to imagine a moral and spiritual about-face of this magnitude and swiftness. Now I wonder about the accuracy of this passage. Luckily, Alison Weir has just come out with a book about Katherine which may answer my question.
    • 4/5
      I'll say right off the bat, I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, especially about the British royals like the Plantagenets (since there is such rich and interesting history -- were any of the men not huge letches? -- to make the actual stories very interesting.) All that said, I did mostly enjoy Anya Seton's "Katherine."The novel is loosely based on the life of Katherine Swynford, a commoner who catches the eye of John of Gaunt, whose father and nephew were king of England. Standing between them is John's marriage to the queen of Castille (and Katherine's marriage to Hugh Synwford too.) They carried on with their affair anyway and Katherine bore John four children, starting the Beaufort line that would eventually become the Tudors when they sat upon the throne of England.There isn't a whole lot known about Katherine herself (in fact, I was led to this book by Alison Weir's nonfiction book about Swynford, which relies on scant evidence like household records to recreate her life story.) Seton does a good job of giving Katherine an interesting and complex character, who makes missteps, doubts herself and behaves in a realistic sort of way.Seton's prose is often overwrought and she occasionally gets quite bogged down in the details of 14th century life (or at least how she imagined it to be.) Despite that, she creates a story with enough charm and intrigue to keep it interesting most of the way through.
    • 4/5
      The Katherine of the title is Katherine Swynford (1350-1403), an important figure in English history as she is the ancestress of many royal figures, and also, incidentally, sister-in-law to Geoffrey Chaucer, who married her sister Philippa. There are few known facts about what kind of woman Katherine was, which gave Seton plenty of leeway to turn her into a beautiful, strong-willed woman. Married off at a young age to a knight she actively disliked, she nonetheless caught the eye of John of Gaunt, of the House of Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the third son of King Edward III. They were lovers over a great number of years and had 4 bastard children, named Beaufort, and eventually married in 1396, three years before the passing of the duke. While their relationship is at the heart of the novel, it is much more than a romance novel, as Seton does a wonderful job of bringing the 14th century vividly to life with rich detail, and putting the story firmly in the context of important historical events. Strongly recommended for fans of historical fiction. I listened to the audio version which is very well narrated by Wanda McCaddon, aka Nadia May.
    • 5/5
      Katherine by Anya Seton is gateway historical fiction/romance for many avid readers, myself included. As a young teenager, I devoured this book [did I read it a dozen times?]. It's been a few years since I re-read Katherine, and perhaps the writing would not stand up to my matured judgement. All of my understanding of the chronologies and relationships of the royal houses of England come from reading books like Katherine. The passionate relationships provided momentum to understanding feudalism, the complex alliances and relationships, and the triggering events of history.
    • 4/5
      If you haven't read this book and love history it is a must. So much detail, it is not a quick read but it really brings the history of the 13/1400s to life and gives you a real feeling of what it was like to live in those times. Beautifully written, I cannot imagine how much research was done! I thoroughly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      If you love historical fiction and a good romance this book it for you. The beginning is a little slow, but well worth getting through. This is one of only a few that remain on my must read every year or so. Make sure you clear your schedule because after you get to the "castle burning" you will not be able to put the book down. Enjoy!
    • 5/5
      I first read Katherine when I was 13 years old at my mama's recommendation (she always had a book in her hand too!). That was over 30 years ago and I still read and recommend Katherine.
    • 4/5
      I'd long seen this novel, published in 1954, mentioned as one of the great classic works of historical romance in the same breath as books such as Gone With the Wind, Forever Amber and The Far Pavilions and it's based on a true 14th century romance. It took me a while to get into the book for several reasons. First, the book is written in omniscient, and it bounces between points of views incessantly. I've read writers who can do this expertly and so smoothly you hardly notice--such as Jane Austen, Michael Chabon and Alice Hoffman (and Margaret Mitchell for that matter.) I don't feel Seton is one of them. Points of view were sometimes changed even within paragraphs, which can be confusing, and I didn't settle inside Katherine's head early on enough to get immediately invested. And it seemed at first a rather empty head for the sister-in-law of Chaucer, a commoner who gained the passionate love of a great prince, John of Gaunt, who was a son of Edward III. However, when the novel begins, Katherine is a naive fifteen-year-old coming to court straight from the convent where she was raised. But I also found the way John of Gaunt was portrayed in the beginning rather off-putting as well. He at first feels this instinctive dislike for Katherine because she resembles his wet-nurse, a take hit on again and again in the book I found tiresome. The prose at times seemed stilted. What kept me reading though was the picture of the medieval world which was vivid, well-detailed and seemed well-researched. I reveled in being taken to a a tourney and inside a medieval manor with its trestle tables, a leaking thatched roof with rushes on the floor. Eventually--I can even pinpoint where, the scene right after Katherine first gives birth--the love story took fire for me. From plague to peasant revolt, and portraits of figures such as Alice Perrers, Julian of Norwich, John Wycliffe, Wat Tyler and Geoffrey Chaucer, the novel offered up a fascinating historical tapestry. I did wind up totally absorbed in the story and sorry when it was over.
    • 5/5
      Well researched, well written, a great piece of historical literature. Though it's a romance, it's not drippy or soppy, and it has enhanced my knowledge of history in a way a textbok could never have done.
    • 5/5
      A really terrific historical novel. The setting, 14th century England, is vividly recreated, and the story is compelling. I loved this when I first read it, and I love it still.
    • 4/5
      What an enjoyable book! Seton masterfully transported me to 14th century England and kindled my interest in a part of British history about which I had known nothing. What more can one ask of historical fiction? Engaging characters and a page-turner story? Check! The love story came across a bit over-romantic, albeit plausible. It's so much more likely that the relationship was fraught with politics and power alla Alice Perrers. Still, the romanticism didn't mar my enjoyment of the immersive setting nor did it seem to affect Seton's portrayal of the happenings of the late 14th century. I've been dreaming in medieval England for days.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful beautifully written and historically informative love story. I'm happy I purchased the paperback so I could read along with the audio version when necessary. The narration was choppy and had many distracting background noises that disrupted the beauty of this descriptive tale of 14th century trial, longing, angst, joy and love between Katherine Swynford and the Duke of Lancaster.
    • 3/5
      This was the first book I read by Anya Seton some decade or more ago and it was responsible for my love of History. I think I actually fell in love with John of Gaunt as Seton portrays him. Although John of Gaunt and other characters are well presented the lead character of Katherine is very much central, as with the other books of Seton's I have read the principal female protagonist is a really strong character.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I've ever read. I wish I could read it fresh all over again. Truly deserving of the word "classic."
    • 4/5
      An interesting tale, with a lovely romance. That being said, I thought it excellent that Katherine stayed true to her first husband until his death. It gave some insights to the role of women in this period. And unlike the traditional romance, this book followed Katherine through most of her life, in ups and downs.
    • 5/5
      This book is more than just a good romance. It is an all-time classic. I am a younger reader, and so I don't have fond memories of the first time this book came out; but I'm glad that they brought Katherine back into print. It is one of those books that all lovers of historical fiction should read, not simply for the history, but because this is an elegantly crafted novel; unarguably one of the very best I've read in a long time. This novel is a great introduction to the works of Anya Seton.The story of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt is set against a backdrop of chivalry and heroic adventure during the 14th century. I thoroughly loved this novel; there are parts of it that still stay with me two months after reading it. Whenever I read historical fiction, I always look to see whether the author has done her research- Anya Seton most definitely did hers.I decided it doesn't matter whether or not you love the heroes of this book- they were real people, and that's what makes this book so much more vibrant. Thats what I loved most- I felt that I actually knew these characters, had actually sat down at a meal with Katherine Swynford or gone hunting with Prince John. The author Geoffrey Chaucer has become mythical in the annals of English literature; however here he becomes humanized, a real person with a wife and children of his own. I was absolutely amazed by it.Another great thing about this book is that the author never mentions what will happen in the future for these people (even though she, and the reader, obviously know). Anya Seton simply let the story take itself along. For example, at the end of Katherine, Richard III is a little boy, newly crowned king. Even though historians have protrayed him as a tyrant, Seton never lets on that this is what, in fact, he will become. Richard seems like a lost, lonely little boy trying to fill shoes that are too big for him.
    • 5/5
      Love story of Katherine Swynford, mistress of John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III. After being widowed, Katherine becomes his mistress and bears him several children. Eventualy she becomes his third wife, their children are legitimized, and become the ancestors of the Tudor royal line.This period of English history includes the Black Death, the Peasants' Revolt, and the intrigues and in-fighting among the uncles of the young king Richard II.Interesting side note: Geoffrey Chaucer was married to Katherine's sister, Philippa.
    • 5/5
      Well-written with compelling characters.