Katherine

A Novel

By: Anya Seton

Narrated by: Lorna Bennett

"Exhilarating, exuberant, and rich," Katherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family (Austin Chronicle).

Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption.

Anya Seton's vivid rendering of the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster makes Katherine an unmistakable classic.

“An inspiration and the benchmark by which I judge historical novels.”—Alison Weir

©2000 Anya Seton (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Transported back to Chaucer’s England

Wonderful finely wrought characters in a tale of enduring love and a woman’s incredible capacity to survive the fickle winds of fate

A great love story, among such hard times.

This is one of my favorite books. I’ve read many history books of this era & enjoy the historical fiction novels. IMO, this is the best historical love story of the time. It was a joy listening to it. This true story, so well researched & written, is such a marvelous example of love, fate & genetics. I have no doubt I will listen to this audio book again & again! If you are interested in this English history yime period, this read is a must.

Remarkable story

I fell in love with the characters. I never lost interest as the story moved along.

The story lacked vulgarity.

The story and the narrator flowed smoothly until The End. It was a good book.

near perfect narration!

Very well written historical semi fiction. i was sorry for it to end, even tho it was 28 hours long!

love

I absolutely adore this book so perfectly written. definitely in the top tier of Anya Seton novels

Excellent book!

The Historical review is fascinating, characters developed and well written. I do highly recommend reading this book!

The authenticity of the heroine at all phases of life

I liked the love story of course. But the illustrations of the times through words was fantastic. The reader really gets to see life as it was back then. I was also impressed with Catherine”s ability to take criticism and look at it, think about it and change her views if the new info made sense.

Interesting history

I knew nothing of Katherine, so I'm glad I read this one. It tended to get bogged down in detail and it was hard to stick with it, I had to repeat some chapters just to keep the characters straight Narration was great.

The story is fantastic and the writing did justice to this epic love

I am a lover of historical fiction, but it is often hard to find beautiful and good writing to accompany it! This book sure hit the mark, excellent story and fabulous storytelling!