Having laid my prejudice for this genre on the table, I wish to say Anya Seton excels at what she does. It left him profoundly shaken and guilt-ridden, and he publicly renounced Katherine and separated from her, a decision in which she seems to have concurred. But whatever the shadowed years might bring, as long as life should last, he knew that he had here at his side one sure recompense and one abiding loyalty. Everything comes to life on the page, with its old mansion location and setting becoming a character in of itself essentially. His son, John Beaufort, duke of Somerset, was the father of Lady Margaret Beaufort, who married Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and the mother of Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty.

Katherine by Anya Seton - Goodreads Editions of Katherine by Anya Seton - Goodreads

I’ve no idea what I would have made of Katherine had I read it for the first time as an adult; I must have been about 13 when my father gave it to me, telling me I wouldn’t be able to put it down. In 1398, the king’s tyrannical and cruel exiling of the duke’s beloved heir, Henry of Bolingbroke, led to John’s final decline. At number 95 in the BBC Top 100 it’s one that I had never previously heard of – indeed even my most bookish of friends reacted with a blank stare when I told them what I was reading. The action of the novel moves back and forth between Northumberland, Tyneside, London, and the United States. The couple's relationship develops slowly over the first half of the book, but the payoff is well worth the wait.Years later, after his wife had died and he married her, controversy and criticism surrounded their union, for she was thought to be far below him in status, morally unacceptable and highly unsuitable in many respects. Katherine Swynford lived through a dramatic age – the time of the Black Death, the Hundred Years’ War and the Peasants’ Revolt. After John’s renunciation of Katherine, Seton has her visiting the mystic anchoress (a type of religious recluse), Julian of Norwich, and in time achieving peace of mind.

Katherine (Seton novel) - Wikipedia

It was to her care and guidance that the king’s young bride, the six-year-old Isabella of Valois, would be entrusted.Nick Rennison believes that the novel has retained its popularity "because of the skill with which [Seton] evokes the world her heroine enters and because Katherine herself remains such a powerful character".

Anya Seton - Book Series In Order Anya Seton - Book Series In Order

The great ladies of the realm refused to acknowledge Katherine, who was now, for the brief period before Richard II remarried later that year, the first lady in the land. She's got two good plots and switches back and forth between them, which makes the book feel patched together. Katherine tells the true story of Katherine de Roet, born the daughter of a minor Flemish herald, later knight.The Beaufort children, now grown, are legitimised by royal and papal decrees after Katherine and the Duke are married.

Katherine by Anya Seton | Goodreads

After the deaths of Blanche and Hugh, so begins the passionate liaison between the flame haired beauty Katherine, and the charismatic Duke of Lancaster and player in the power of England's politics of the time. Notable minor characters weave through the story - Geoffrey Chaucer, who was Katherine's brother-in-law, and the mystic Julian of Norwich. A glorious example of romance in its most classic literary sense: exhilarating, exuberant, and rich with the jeweled tones of England in the 1300s.Taking place during the 14th century, it’s English setting sees many major historical events surrounding them, such as the aftermath of the Peasant’s Revolt in 1381. In 2003, Katherine was chosen as the 95th best British novel of all time in a nationwide poll conducted by the BBC. HNS Awards have helped discover and launch the author careers of Michel Faber, Ruth Downie, Hilary Green, Martin Sutton, Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott, Nikki Marmery, Margaret Skea, Warwick Cairns, Katherine Mezzacappa and Elizabeth Macneal. A detailed and rich novel, with the author showing a flair for the English language and a deep understanding of medieval English history.