Katherine: The classic historical romance

Please note I'm merely commenting on the Kindle version. I've loved this book for years and have only just downloaded it on to my Kindle. But there are so many errors in the conversion to Kindle format that sometimes it's difficult to work out what the text is actually supposed to be, and quite often the mood is completely spoiled. Someone else has picked up on "horrible dream - I was drowning and you - 8212" - I've looked in my paperback copy and 8212 doesn't actually replace anything, it's just sneaked in! It's obviously not been checked for errors by the transcriber.

If you are thinking of approaching this book as a historically accurate fiction novel on one of England's most famous love affairs, you will be utterly disappointed.Very few things are known about Katherine De Roet, later Lady Swynford lover and then wife to the Duke of Lancaster, but not so few that the reader can accept the author's wild speculations unquestioningly. The Duke's first wife died in 1468, his grief was portrayed by Chaucer in the Book of the Duchess and his first son by Swynford was born in 1473, so no need to picture our Prince Charming laying hands on his future lover barely 4 days after interring his beloved consort. There is also no evidence that Katherine's first marriage was not just as happy as her lover's and second husband's first marriage, with no need to picture Sir Swynford as a fatty, hairy, rude rapist who proposes marriage only because he's caught in the act of assailing our maid by the Duke, let alone the allegations on his Thomas Becket-like death making way for our heroine's surrender to the Duke's passion.The love story itself is overromanticised: our Duke is the perfect knight in shining armour (save for 10 years of blatant and very fruitful adultery), rescueing Katherine from evil every other chapter, scarcely remembering his royal duties and ambition when his lover is near. Katherine is the perfect Cinderella (again save for 10 years of adultery and 4 illegitimate children) eventually winning the prize of honourable marriage after renouncing her love for 15 years out of a sacred vow to the Virgin Mary instead of being sent away out of political necessity. Sometimes the descriptions are sooo sweet you think the pages will stick to your fingers. Other elements in the plot (Katherine's presence at the Savoy during the Peasants' revolt, her lonely pilgrimage to Walsingham, the turn of events related to Katherine's first legitimate daughter, etc.) make the story as unplausible as it is dramatic. One passage ends with Katherine feeling like she is treading on a mine field (mines? In the Middle Ages???)However, if you leave your need for absolute accuracy aside and lose yourself in the detailed, lavish descriptions the author delivers in her beautiful rich writing, you will feel like looking at a live Medieval fresco, with characters moving in the landscape of an era that you will feel come to life, despite the several weak points of the narrative, making you at least want to know more and investigate further on both the historical period and its characters.

Katherine was the book from my Classics Club listpicked for me to read in the latest Classics Club Spin. And how glad I am it was selected because at 500 pages I’d been putting off reading it but, once I started the book, I became so caught up in the story that the pages flew by.A fictionalized account of the relationship between Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, the book is wonderfully romantic without being slushy or sentimental and full of period atmosphere. The intimate portrait of their love affair which spanned decades is set against the backdrop of wider historical events, such as the Peasants’ Revolt. However, the historical detail never overwhelms the personal story.The book is rich in descriptive detail – of food, clothing, furnishings, daily life – and has an interesting cast of secondary characters such as Geoffrey Chaucer. I also liked the way the closing scenes of the book contrast Katherine’s view of her newly elevated position with her first impressions of the Plantagenet court as a young girl.No doubt it can be argued that Katherine is an overly romanticized account of a woman about whom relatively little is actually known. However, as a historical romance it worked for me and I thank the spin gods for choosing this book for me to read.(My rating relates to the book not to this Kindle edition which has numerous proofing errors)

I find it difficult to express why I liked this book so much. Katherine Swynford is a women from history that is often overlooked but this book puts her right at the centre and what a wonderful read it is as a result. Written in 1954 it predates much of the modern popularity for historical fiction but can easily hold its own against any modern author of this genre. It is factually well researched the characters are real, as are the main events. It is set in the medieval period but far from being morbid or brutal it is a beautiful love story of the life long love that endures between Katherine and the Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt. The characters are well drawn and you feel part of the story from the very beginning. I have read this book in the Kindle version but decided to buy a paperback to own and loan. When it arrives I shall read it again and again and......