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Reviews
Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir
triedandtrope's review against another edition
3.0
Good biography, but it took me a long time to read. Excellent in-depth analysis of a fascinating woman and her times.
chloethemidwife's review
informative
slow-paced
5.0
I really loved this book. The depth of research is just astonishing! I finished
the book with a greater understanding of the lives of medieval women.
the book with a greater understanding of the lives of medieval women.
alsamps21's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable insight into the life of one of history's most fascinating female figures. Weir's narrative style makes it an easy read, and she explores the entirety of Katherine's life, and gives an informative look at her family too. People have criticised Weir's book for being too full of uncertainties and not having enough solid information, but the fact is that there are only few sources that can give us hard facts about Katherine. To compensate for this, Weir explores every possibility and weighs the most likely reasons or explanations. A great historical biography.
katscribefever's review against another edition
3.0
This is a biography that leans heavily on the side of romanticism. It includes a massive account of the unpleasant details about Katherine and John, each of whom made plenty of mistakes. I wouldn't call this an uplifting read, but it was absolutely a very well-researched one. Weir shares a lifetime of information about the title figure in my favorite novel, and does so in a way that strips away many of the pretenses we often allow to color our perception of a long ago time. I see Katherine and John's story a little differently than Weir, with fewer starry eyes than sorrowful ones, but even so I think her research into the matter is thorough and a pretty compilation of information about a woman who lived in a time when women were very much
tessisreading2's review against another edition
4.0
An exemplary example of how to write a biography about someone about whom there is very little factual information available. Weir lays out what we do (and don't) know about Katherine's life in a straightforward and readable manner and makes good use of facts and inferences, always explaining the reasoning process behind them. Unfortunately, given that dearth of information, Katherine herself doesn't really come alive, but in many ways the book is like reading a detective novel and as such, it's fascinating.
ailurophile_bibliophile89's review
4.0
Updated Review - 02/06/2023: 4 Stars
Original Review - 04/27/2020: 4 Stars
Updated Review February 6, 2023:
I've been itching to reread Anya Seton's [b:Katherine|33609|Katherine|Anya Seton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436406825l/33609._SY75_.jpg|2372397] for a couple months now, but I wanted to reread Weir's biography before I did so, partly because I just finished [b:Queens of the Age of Chivalry|58594487|Queens of the Age of Chivalry (England's Medieval Queens Book 3)|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648718040l/58594487._SY75_.jpg|92126938] by the same author.
Not a whole lot has changed since my original review, however I do want to add that I noticed a lot of the same phrases and words used in Weir's Age of Chivalry. My review for that book was one star less than this one, because it does feel like Weir just took what she had already written for Katherine (and by extension, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella de Valois) and Queen Isabella of France (from her book [b:Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England|111219|Queen Isabella Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333577602l/111219._SX50_.jpg|869535]) and just inserted them into her a new book.
A disappointment for a new, updated biography, even if it is a compilation, but that shouldn't (and doesn't) change my thoughts on Mistress of the Monarchy.
Still 4 Stars, even two years later.
Original Review April 27, 2023:
Goodness, I am on a biography-binge right now, because I just can’t stop. Not sure why this is, of course, but I’ll take it.
Having only read Alison Weir’s [b:A Dangerous Inheritance|12959266|A Dangerous Inheritance|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326549930l/12959266._SY75_.jpg|17229103] and [b:Queens of the Conquest: England’s Medieval Queens|33638252|Queens of the Conquest (England’s Medieval Queens #1)|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500287137l/33638252._SY75_.jpg|54487817], I have had little experience in her biographies. While I certainly enjoyed Queens it was certainly written about a period of time where the records were not as cleanly kept as those as in the Tudor and Stuart periods. Still, for the few resources that exist about women in power during that period, it was thoroughly researched and well-written enough to merit a book all on its own, however much of a compilation it was.
That being said, the same applies to Mistress of the Monarch: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster. Granted, the lack of historical record about Katherine Swynford is even less than those mentioned in Queens - barring Henry I’s second queen, Adeliza - and therefore it cannot be much of a surprise that this is also as much of a biography of John of Gaunt as it is of his third wife and former mistress.
Weir was right in stating that it is hard to write a biography about a little-known woman, however so much of her life is intertwined with one of the most important princes in the late 14th century. Therefore, it makes sense that she talks of John’s doing and of Chaucer’s, as there’s just so little information of Katherine to begin with.
Additionally, what was startling to learn, for me at least, was the connection between Katherine and Geoffrey Chaucer. I read The Canterbury Tales in high school, of course, but unfortunately don’t remember much about the author. (It was mentioned in Joanna Hickson’s [b:The Tudor Bride|17837823|The Tudor Bride (Catherine de Valois, #2)|Joanna Hickson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366623122l/17837823._SY75_.jpg|24960581] due to a connection between one of the characters and Alice, Duchess of Suffolk, who is a granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer; however I paid little heed to it, assuming that it was pure fiction given Hickson’s liberties between a baker’s daughter and a French princess.) Now I’m curious to know more about that infamous poet and his life.
Still, I digress. Despite this being more a history of John of Gaunt and his marital adventures, there is enough information to provoke interest in this mother of kings and queens. Unfortunately, I doubt that more information of Katherine will ever come to light, leaving Weir’s biography one of the only few sources about her.
Original Review - 04/27/2020: 4 Stars
Updated Review February 6, 2023:
I've been itching to reread Anya Seton's [b:Katherine|33609|Katherine|Anya Seton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436406825l/33609._SY75_.jpg|2372397] for a couple months now, but I wanted to reread Weir's biography before I did so, partly because I just finished [b:Queens of the Age of Chivalry|58594487|Queens of the Age of Chivalry (England's Medieval Queens Book 3)|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648718040l/58594487._SY75_.jpg|92126938] by the same author.
Not a whole lot has changed since my original review, however I do want to add that I noticed a lot of the same phrases and words used in Weir's Age of Chivalry. My review for that book was one star less than this one, because it does feel like Weir just took what she had already written for Katherine (and by extension, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella de Valois) and Queen Isabella of France (from her book [b:Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England|111219|Queen Isabella Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333577602l/111219._SX50_.jpg|869535]) and just inserted them into her a new book.
A disappointment for a new, updated biography, even if it is a compilation, but that shouldn't (and doesn't) change my thoughts on Mistress of the Monarchy.
Still 4 Stars, even two years later.
Original Review April 27, 2023:
Goodness, I am on a biography-binge right now, because I just can’t stop. Not sure why this is, of course, but I’ll take it.
Having only read Alison Weir’s [b:A Dangerous Inheritance|12959266|A Dangerous Inheritance|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326549930l/12959266._SY75_.jpg|17229103] and [b:Queens of the Conquest: England’s Medieval Queens|33638252|Queens of the Conquest (England’s Medieval Queens #1)|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500287137l/33638252._SY75_.jpg|54487817], I have had little experience in her biographies. While I certainly enjoyed Queens it was certainly written about a period of time where the records were not as cleanly kept as those as in the Tudor and Stuart periods. Still, for the few resources that exist about women in power during that period, it was thoroughly researched and well-written enough to merit a book all on its own, however much of a compilation it was.
That being said, the same applies to Mistress of the Monarch: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster. Granted, the lack of historical record about Katherine Swynford is even less than those mentioned in Queens - barring Henry I’s second queen, Adeliza - and therefore it cannot be much of a surprise that this is also as much of a biography of John of Gaunt as it is of his third wife and former mistress.
Weir was right in stating that it is hard to write a biography about a little-known woman, however so much of her life is intertwined with one of the most important princes in the late 14th century. Therefore, it makes sense that she talks of John’s doing and of Chaucer’s, as there’s just so little information of Katherine to begin with.
Additionally, what was startling to learn, for me at least, was the connection between Katherine and Geoffrey Chaucer. I read The Canterbury Tales in high school, of course, but unfortunately don’t remember much about the author. (It was mentioned in Joanna Hickson’s [b:The Tudor Bride|17837823|The Tudor Bride (Catherine de Valois, #2)|Joanna Hickson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366623122l/17837823._SY75_.jpg|24960581] due to a connection between one of the characters and Alice, Duchess of Suffolk, who is a granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer; however I paid little heed to it, assuming that it was pure fiction given Hickson’s liberties between a baker’s daughter and a French princess.) Now I’m curious to know more about that infamous poet and his life.
Still, I digress. Despite this being more a history of John of Gaunt and his marital adventures, there is enough information to provoke interest in this mother of kings and queens. Unfortunately, I doubt that more information of Katherine will ever come to light, leaving Weir’s biography one of the only few sources about her.