Katherine | Anya Seton | Favorite Book

Katherine | Anya Seton | A Romance Novel For All Time

books:

Katherine

	Katherine Anya Seton Chicago Review Press, 2004 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 254 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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Favorite Book

This is one of my favorite books of all time. This was the book that got be hooked on historical fiction, and although the cover (imo) does the book an injustice (making the novel look old and boring), this is a wonderful read. Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt are flesh-and-blood characters, leaping off the page to bring you along in a 14th century adventure.

If you have any interest in the 1300s, Chaucer, English history, or even just romance stories, I think you'll like this.

A Romance Novel For All Time

A contemporary of Shakespeare's once wrote that he was not of an age, but for all time. I very feel this way about this novel. As romances go, this has it all. And for fans on historical fiction, fiction, romance, history, and of course, the British history, I would highly recommend this book.

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Extremely enlightening

As a lover of HISTORICAL fiction, this was one of the best. The people became real and the historical facts were given understanding and reality. I would haved liked to have a portrait of Katherine included. Her family set the tone for England for centuries to come.

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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