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A review by ailurophile_bibliophile89
Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir
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.