Katherine: The classic historical romance

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It turns out that I've read this book before. It did look a bit familiar. I didn't remember what happened in the end. I only remembered a couple parts of the story.

Katherine by Anya Seton, First Edition - AbeBooks Katherine by Anya Seton, First Edition - AbeBooks

Most of this is pure fiction, but so well-told that it reads convincingly and reflects the breadth of Seton’s research. Notwithstanding its factual errors, Katherine is beautifully written, and remains my favourite historical novel. It has also been the inspiration for my biography.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. And also, you just know, even before she admitted to it, that had Blanche not gone missing, Katherine would have carried on her relationship with John and not done penance at all. I just felt that the whole phase was unnecessary. But it was a small thing. Having laid my prejudice for this genre on the table, I wish to say Anya Seton excels at what she does. I was completely invested in Katherine and John of Gaunt as historical characters and as individual people. It took quite a lot to survive in the sphere of the royal house in the 1300s and it is fascinating that these two persons so far down in the line of succession would be the grandfather and grandmother of a bevy of future kings and queens, including the Tutors.

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Looking down at my review from before, I didn't find Rumon 'odd' this time. Merewyn did have some happy times in her life. As her own foreword, reprinted here, attests, Anya Seton researched her story meticulously, and it is no less moving or romantic for its adherence to the facts of these two well-documented lives. Seton’s direct, unadorned prose both survives the test of time and serves to heighten the poignancy of her tale.The best thing about this book is the setting and period. Seton writes about, and goes into detail of, a time period that not many people write about. I was completely unfamiliar with many of these historical figures until I read this book. The worst thing about this book is the writing style. It’s not bad, per se, but it’s a little stiff. Through her granddaughter Joan Beaufort, who married James I, King of Scots, Katherine was the ancestor of every Scottish monarch from 1437 onwards, and thus of the royal House of Stuart following the union of the crowns in 1603. Another granddaughter, Cecily Neville, married Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, by whom she was the mother of the English kings Edward IV and Richard III, making Katherine the ancestor of every English monarch since 1461. A historical novel based on events that occurred in the 10th Century in England, Iceland, and Greenland, Avalon did not live up to my expectations of Anya Seton. The plot of a bit plodding and fairly unsophisticated. However, I did enjoy getting a glimpse of this time period, which is not one that is encountered that often. I now have a better understanding of how the very important Norman conquest came to be and why the Normans came to sit on the throne of England. Regarding the actual story, I was surprised to find that I felt really very sorry for Hugh, Katherine's first husband, which I didn't expect at all. I expected to hate him based on our first impression of him. He definitely did NOT make a good first impression, but I came to realize that he just didn't know how not to. His life was pretty unfair to him. He had a title, but that was about it, and all he knew was how to be a knight. He couldn't help his ways, and it's not like in the 14th century that men were very sensitive to women's emotional needs. (Even John, who was by far the most attuned and sensitive man depicted, at least regarding Katherine, was obtuse as hell at times.) But it was a mark of the excellent characterization that I understood and empathized with both Hugh AND Katherine. I can definitely understand her loathing and repulsion of him - this huge, uncouth guy whose first interaction with her was attempted rape of a 14 year old, and then who was woefully inept at not emotionally scarring his young bride when their marriage was consummated by force. It surely wasn't a pleasant experience, and but for the conventions of the time, where a wife must submit to her husband in every way, it would be rape. It WAS rape. But accepted, sanctified, and expected rape, because they were married, whether she liked it or not.

Review: Katherine - Anya Seton - The Literary Edit Review: Katherine - Anya Seton - The Literary Edit

Recommended especially for anyone who loved Kristin Lavransdatter because the story, the gritty details, the relationships, the emotional ride, the excellent storytelling parallel each other. In fact, coupled with the descriptions of Richard having a “girlish” and “pretty” appearance, a “childish” voice and the comment about his inability to father a child, I really think Seton means this as a slur on Richard’s character and masculinity. So the wiles of plot are nullified. There's no reason to wonder how everything will turn out when Wikipedia exists.Through 399: Sometimes the stupidity of Katherine annoys me. I am happy that the serfs are being egged on by John Ball. Katherine is getting spoiled by her good living. Is her memory so short? Here is a short conversation between Katherine and her maid, Hawsie: In 1904, Seton was born in Manhattan to English-born naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton and American travel writer Grace Gallatin Seton Thompson. [2] [3] She grew up in Cos Cob, Connecticut, in a wealthy family. [2] [4]

Katherine by Anya Seton | Goodreads

But they are not!" cried Katherine, her eyes flashing. "Nobody starves in Leicester, or any of the Duke's domains. The kitchens often feed three hundred a day." I'm trying to say this without spoilers. Her life had different events and places in it. She did well for herself considering... I found her very engaging. Enduring all that life threw at her, yet remaining kind. She had a warmth about her personality. Such a novel is Anya Seton’s Katherine, often regarded as her finest book. It is set in the distant past of the (14th England, and Seton’s love of England and the English countryside is a powerful ingredient in this deeply felt book. It tells the story of Katherine – a convent-bred girl, who develops an inner strength in her arranged marriage to a boorish country squire, and who finds a deep and passionate love in her relationship with John, Duke of Lancaster, better known as John of Gaunt. The characters are vividly imagined and described, the detail of mediaeval England from the dirty streets to the excitement of feast days to the glamour of the royal palaces is splendidly evoked. Seton has an absolute command of her picture of England in the middle of the (14th and she describes it with confident flair. Well ha ha ha on us. This story of lusty Katherine the Flemish wench, sister-in-law of Chaucer and lover of a Royal Duke, wife of a stunningly boring man who just ups and dies (most handily) one day, and mother of something like six or seven kids (now doesn't that make your baby-maker sore just thinkin' about it?) was about as close to one-handed reading for girls as things got in 1954.

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Weir, Alison (2007). Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster' . New York: Ballantine Books. p.310. I also appreciate that Seton apparently went to a lot of effort to research this period of history thoroughly. There are some inaccuracies I noted, but this was written over fifty years ago and what was ‘known’ has no doubt changed dramatically. Having said that, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t go into some detail about this.