Reviews

Katherine by Anya Seton

jessicacoh's review against another edition

emotional relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I was told this was royal love story, totally foundational historical fiction for lovers of Phillips Gregory, Alison Weir, and other authors that impose personality on women who have been largely lost to history. I can definitely see that— and I appreciated the foundation this book gave my understanding of English history. I do think other authors do it better though— this book was slow and Katherine herself unlikeable. I put it down for months at a time. 

tomnorth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

solveforlex's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hannahlovesnadi's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Enjoyed reading this - scratched an itch I had for vivid historical fiction with a strong romantic relationship! Very character drive . Katherine and John Gaunt are apart for most of the book, and after a tumultuous, decades-long romantic relationship, finally reconcile in their early 40s and 50s. Seaton also clearly did her research; it was very informative.

septan's review against another edition

2.0

This book was first published in the 1950s, something that unfortunately comes across quite clearly in the portrayal of Katherine. Reading it today, this meant that neither lead character nor love story were particularly compelling.

readcover2cover's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars (but I'll round up to 4 because I think it probably deserves it). This book was very well-written, but loooooong. My interest ebbed and flowed throughout the reading I think just because of the length. Katherine Swynford is a historical figure that I knew nothing about, but enjoyed learning about. She and John, Duke of Lancaster, had a pretty epic love story in real life, so reading a fictionalized version was very interesting. I liked Katherine's character and thought her development as she grew up and into adulthood was well-done. Like it said, it was a long book that took me quite a while to get through. This isn't necessarily bad, but sometimes I did have trouble focusing. I'd like to read Alison Weir's [b:Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess|499712|Katherine Swynford The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328131007l/499712._SY75_.jpg|487826] now to see how much of this book is true and how much was made up. Overall, I'm glad I read it finally (it's been on my shelf a long time) and thought it was pretty decent.

pacrislopa's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

liziev's review against another edition

2.0

Where to even begin?

I'm not sure that this counts as a spoiler, but I'm hiding it just in case.

If I was to summarize the story in two minutes or less, you'd be really intrigued. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story, fantastic characters, and it sets the stage for the whole Tudor empire so it's a turning point for English history. If you wiki Katherine Swynford, you'll learn more about her than what I'll "spoil" here....

It's a 500 page book. 250 pages of it revolves around her upbringing, and arrival at court. This could probably be halved, and still get the point across. Her affair really lasts about 30 pages or so, then John of Gaunt is betrothed to someone else. Which leads to 150 pages of her being a mistress which is, for the most part, pretty boring. The last 100 pages moves at lightening speed, compared to the rest of the book. Riots, revolts, break ups, and finally being reunited. Granted, in real life, this all happened in the last few years of her life, so I understand why this all happened at the end of the book. But everything would have been much more enjoyable if we would have just gotten to the point already.

What started as a labor of love, turned out to just be labor.

jay_sy's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Katherine by Anya Seton is a historical fiction about Katherine Swynford who became the wife of John of Gaunt. I know that little was written about Katherine so I imagine Seton filled in a great deal of details about her, but I think she did a lovely job and the book was engaging. 

The atmosphere was lovely and I loved all the details, whether it was about life at court, or about dealing with serfs. I liked seeing the interesting contrast between different households, and the comparison between the impoverished Swynford estate compared to the rich lands of Blanche.

The audiobook narrator does a really good job and even sings the songs. Some audiobook narrators who will lower their voices for male characters which can sound unnatural and I'm glad this narrator doesn't do that. However, some of the children's lisps was a little irritating.

Katherine is generally portrayed in a likable and sympathetic way. The story is written with so much drama and I found it very engaging.

I was really sympathetic towards Katherine until her children got older and we reached the point of the peasant’s revolt. I know the peasants are rough and their methods are brutal, but I can’t help but sympathize for their plight. I found that as I continue to read, I didn’t particularly care for John of Gaunt. But I really enjoyed reading about Katherine’s spiritual journey and the solace she found with the anchoress and parson. 

 

I'm certainly looking forward to reading more from Seton and I'm thrilled to have found this author. Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5

ginadylan's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Katherine’s character is suprisingly well developed and modern for the time the focus and relationship with the children can occasionally feel forced not a romance but a nice story of a womens journey