Katherine Swynford
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Product Description
Sunday Telegraph, Stella Loves
`The mistress and eventual wife of John of Gaunt is brought to life in Alison Weir's new book'
Review
'meticulous research, discerning judgement ... Weir has produced a wonderful biography'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like Alison Weir, I was first introduced to the story of Katherine Swynford through Anya Seton's romanticized 1954 novel, Katherine. Weir's biography is a pretty comprehensive look at this enigmatic, lesser-known medieval woman.
I have a love-hate relationship with Weir's books: I loved The Six Wives of Henry VIII; liked Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley, and Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England; but detested Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England and Innocent Traitor (Weir doesn't do fiction all that well). I put Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess in the "like somewhat" category.
Katherine Swynford was born Katherine de Roet in 1350, one of the daughters of Sir Paon de Roet. She then married Hugh Swynford, and spent time in the Lancastrian household as the governess to John of Gaunt's children. Katherine's affair with him probably began around the year 1372, and, after producing a number of illegitimate children, married John in 1396. Katherine is the ancestor of most of the royal houses of Europe, plus at least five American presidents. History has seen Katherine as bit of a homewrecker, but in this book, Weir attempts (and mostly succeeds) in portraying her in a more sympathetic light.
This biography of Katherine Swynford is, as with all of Weir's books, meticulously researched. It's less overtly feminist and partisan than some of her other biographies. Pay attention to the subtitle of this biography: the book is more about John of Gaunt than it is about Katherine (in fact, we don't even get a physical description of Katherine until after one is given of John). We also get very detailed biographies of everyone who was related or connected to her, especially Geoffrey Chaucer, her brother-in-law. After finishing this book, I still didn't have a concrete impression of what Katherine was really like. And, because so little is actually known about Katherine's life, Weir makes an awful lot of assumptions here about what her subject "might," "perhaps," or "probably" have done/ thought/ felt.
However, Weir does a wonderful job bringing the details of the period to life. It's an accessible, readable work of history that doesn't get bogged down in pretentious language. For someone who doesn't know medieval Latin or Norman French, Weir does an incredible job of interpreting her sources. And the style of this book is far more lively and engaging than other books written on the Lancasters that I've read. I look forward to reading what comes next from Weir (according to her website, the next book is about Anne Boleyn, though she may be re-treading old water with that one).
I have a love-hate relationship with Weir's books: I loved The Six Wives of Henry VIII; liked Mary Queen of Scots: And the Murder of Lord Darnley, and Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England; but detested Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England and Innocent Traitor (Weir doesn't do fiction all that well). I put Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess in the "like somewhat" category.
Katherine Swynford was born Katherine de Roet in 1350, one of the daughters of Sir Paon de Roet. She then married Hugh Swynford, and spent time in the Lancastrian household as the governess to John of Gaunt's children. Katherine's affair with him probably began around the year 1372, and, after producing a number of illegitimate children, married John in 1396. Katherine is the ancestor of most of the royal houses of Europe, plus at least five American presidents. History has seen Katherine as bit of a homewrecker, but in this book, Weir attempts (and mostly succeeds) in portraying her in a more sympathetic light.
This biography of Katherine Swynford is, as with all of Weir's books, meticulously researched. It's less overtly feminist and partisan than some of her other biographies. Pay attention to the subtitle of this biography: the book is more about John of Gaunt than it is about Katherine (in fact, we don't even get a physical description of Katherine until after one is given of John). We also get very detailed biographies of everyone who was related or connected to her, especially Geoffrey Chaucer, her brother-in-law. After finishing this book, I still didn't have a concrete impression of what Katherine was really like. And, because so little is actually known about Katherine's life, Weir makes an awful lot of assumptions here about what her subject "might," "perhaps," or "probably" have done/ thought/ felt.
However, Weir does a wonderful job bringing the details of the period to life. It's an accessible, readable work of history that doesn't get bogged down in pretentious language. For someone who doesn't know medieval Latin or Norman French, Weir does an incredible job of interpreting her sources. And the style of this book is far more lively and engaging than other books written on the Lancasters that I've read. I look forward to reading what comes next from Weir (according to her website, the next book is about Anne Boleyn, though she may be re-treading old water with that one).
116 of 120 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I don't think I can be the only reader who, although very eager to read this book, felt a certain amount of trepidaton and yes, that is because one of my all-time favourite historical novels is Anya Seton's Katherine. Alison Weir has been very kind to me, I think: although her own research has clearly shown Seton's errors and conjecture and she has not swerved from presenting the facts as she has found them, at the same time she has not callously tried to destroy my rose-tinted images completely. So while I would rather believe, for instance, that John of Gaunt married Katherine entirely out of love, and that he had always been faithful to her, I can accept Weir's far more realistic point of view. Yes, many things about Katherine in this book are still speculation, due to the huge gaps in time when there is no record of her, but they are intelligent, considered speculation and offered to us as such. I enjoyed this portrait of Katherine Swynford immensely and was able to appreciate even more than before how extraordinary her life was. But I was still able to read Seton's novel with great pleasure, although I did have to suspend belief just a little more than I used to.
157 of 164 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I enjoyed this book. It's interesting and informative about the time and the courts of Edward III and Richard II. It's fairly well researched about the time and Weir writes in an engaging style.
However Katherine Swynford left nothing behind, we have nothing written by her and nothing about what she thought or said. We know so very little about her and it shows. Countless times throughout the book Weir has to use phrases such as 'Katherine might have been here or there', 'She may have done this or that' and 'We can only imagine what she felt' because we simply do not have enough evidence about what she was doing or where she was. It's because of this that Katherine's voice simply does not come through in the book. We do not really get much of an idea of what she was like, or what she felt or thought.
Also I noticed that Weir relies heavily (especially in the first few chapters) on the chronicler Jean Frossairt and yet on page 104, when she disagrees with something he's recorded, she tells us that "his sources can hardly have been reliable. He was, after all, writing long after these events." and yet she is happy to rely on him at other times in the book, I'm assuming because there is no other information available.
So although I've taken issue with a couple of things I did, nevertheless, enjoy reading the book and it's as thorough as it can be with so little evidence.
However Katherine Swynford left nothing behind, we have nothing written by her and nothing about what she thought or said. We know so very little about her and it shows. Countless times throughout the book Weir has to use phrases such as 'Katherine might have been here or there', 'She may have done this or that' and 'We can only imagine what she felt' because we simply do not have enough evidence about what she was doing or where she was. It's because of this that Katherine's voice simply does not come through in the book. We do not really get much of an idea of what she was like, or what she felt or thought.
Also I noticed that Weir relies heavily (especially in the first few chapters) on the chronicler Jean Frossairt and yet on page 104, when she disagrees with something he's recorded, she tells us that "his sources can hardly have been reliable. He was, after all, writing long after these events." and yet she is happy to rely on him at other times in the book, I'm assuming because there is no other information available.
So although I've taken issue with a couple of things I did, nevertheless, enjoy reading the book and it's as thorough as it can be with so little evidence.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Nice And Entertaining Read.... But Something Is Missing
I am a big history buff and have numerous books on my shelves from Peter Ackroyd to Antonia Fraser. I have read many of Alison Weir's books too and have enjoyed them immensley. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Joachim
A glimpse of the second half of the fourteenth century
Firstly, this is not a biography. Rather, it is a look at life as it was at the time one woman was alive, using what is known about her as a linking theme. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Peter Durward Harris
Another Weir Triumph
Alison Weir- that is all. Classic Weir. Wonderful, charming, beautiful and thoroughly entertaining.
Having picked off the real plums (Henry VIII's wives, Mary Queen of... Read more
Having picked off the real plums (Henry VIII's wives, Mary Queen of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Illyria
Katherine Synford - Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous...
I found this book extremely well written. It is not a novel just pure facts. Before I read this book I knew little about Katherine Swynford,just the mistress of John of Gaunt. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Historical Renee
Moderately enjoyable but lacking
Katherine Swynfold is one of English history's best known mistresses. Her attractions were clearly so strong to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, that he eventually broke all... Read more
Published 20 months ago by M. K. Burton
Well Worth Reading!
Given the meagre amount of information available about Katherine, Alison has created a lively, interesting and very satisfying biography. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by R. Appleby
Nothing new here!
I agree with the review by charlottestar. With so little remaining evidence & much supposition Alison Weir has created a readable but repetitive narrative. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2010 by Nanny Ka
Katherine Swynford
For anyone who was captivated by Anya Seaton's 'Katherine' many years ago, this is a MUST READ.
Alison Weir's work enriches the memories of 'Katherine' with her reliable... Read more
Alison Weir's work enriches the memories of 'Katherine' with her reliable... Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2009 by Joanne Grant
A passionate affair
As a fan of historical biography and Alison Weir in particular, I found this an interesting and revealing volume to add to my Weir library.
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by C. Ashton
Ingredients contain less than 1% Katherine Swynford
I, like many others, have enjoyed other historical biographies of Alison Weir - and most have been a hit. This one certainly does not fit into that category for me. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2009 by uncle barbar
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