Katherine | Anya Seton | Katherine is a multi-read through the years

Katherine | Anya Seton | one of the first, and still one of the best!

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Katherine

	Katherine Anya Seton Chicago Review Press, 2004 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 257 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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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Katherine is a multi-read through the years

Read it first in high school English (1968) and still re-read it. Excellent Historical Fiction which will probably snag you on Anya Seton's writing.
I recommend The Winthrop Woman as well. And Theodesia.

one of the first, and still one of the best!

This book may have been written in the 1950's, but the story is timeless, and the storyteller is quite skilled in her craft. The dilemmas that Katherine faced were daunting, and the author does not spare us any details in an attempt to make Katherine more sympathetic. I can understand why many historical fiction writers cite Seton as a role model. This is definitely more than a romance novel!

Many of the historical inaccuracies are minor, and are because in the 1950's, there was significantly less known about Medieval Europe than there is now. I am sure that if Seton were to write the book today, she would get those facts straight. But the basic premise holds true, regardless. Peg

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Interesting but sometimes annoying

The book was really interesting and Anya Seton included a lot of the historical context of the time period. But it was slow for quite a while and Katherine, the protagonist, was quite often irritating. But overall it was a pretty good book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction that also has a good amount of historical context.

Well Written

I enjoyed this book for the most part but I also found it to be somewhat like a harlequin novel. Still a good read though.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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