Katherine by Anya Seton
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This is a romance novel that tells the true story of Katherine Swynford who lived in fourteenth-century England. As a young 15-year old Katherine travels to the English court to visit her sister. It is there she meets the King's son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, for the first time. He is married and she marries another but their paths keep crossing and love blooms between them. The novel covers a large span of time and follows the paths of the Duke and Katherine through times of love, war, sickness, adultery and murder.
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I enjoyed this novel. I love history and English history has so many twists and turns it is interesting to read about. The book was not a page turner for me. I got stuck and had to struggle through the middle part of the book, but it was all worth it for the last 150 pages. That is where it all got very interesting for me.
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Spoiler Alert! I had a hard time with the whole affair between Katherine and the Duke. I know it is what really happened but I still didn't like it. It made it hard for me to really enjoy this book as a romance when I knew he was cheating on his wife. But, again, the last 150 pages saved it for me. I was happy Katherine left the Duke and they both had time apart from each other. It was finally a romance for me when they ended up in the end together.
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I would give this book a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I think this would make a great movie. :)
3 comments:
I really enjoyed this book as well, and the fact that alot of it's true made it all the more delicious and satisfying to read.
What a hard age that must have been to live in. They ate, they had sex, those that didn't die from disease, killed each other in war. The poor females barely survived or died constantly from childbirth. No wonder 40 was like, old age.
If I'd lived then, I'd currently be a senior citizen!
I can understand your difficulty with the affair. It was such a strange time as leslie pointed out, they did not have many choices. Katherine did not even get to pick who she married. It was all about advancing and going toward the crown. I agree that the last 150 pages when Katherine finally found herself I fell in love with the book. I loved this book. It is all about going through life and dealing with difficult situations. No matter what she was dealt she picked herself up and tried to be better. I appreciate a woman who can do that!
And leslie you are not a senior citezen.
Katherine had a hard time with the affair as well--that's what led her to leave John and seek her personal redemption, and I loved that John honored Katherine's wishes and stayed with his wife until she died before going back to Katherine. I loved this book especially because it's based on real happenings. I'm so glad I didn't live back then because I'm older than Leslie.
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