Katherine

Synopsis
Katherine Swynford catches the eye of John of Gaunt, the king's son. Theirs is one of the enduring romances of medieval England. Duty means they have to marry others, but they conduct a long-term affair that results in four children. They eventually do marry each other and their descendants go on to found the Tudor dynasty.

My thoughts
I'm having a lot of issues with my historical fiction lately. I'm more than halfway through this book, but I'm throwing in the towel. Like Empress Orchid, there's so much potential in this story, and Katherine Swynford is about as juicy a character as you can get in medieval Europe. But the love scenes are too sappy for me to handle.

Seton does do a good job transporting you back to medieval England. Her descriptions of the horror of the plague are so vivid that I'm terrified of it myself. I also had no idea that Geoffrey Chaucer was married to Katherine Swynford's sister, so it was fun to see him pop up every now and then (he's witty and easy-going, despite his nagging wife).

Bottom line
It's not my favorite. If I had more time I would probably finish it. Maybe I'll finish it later, but I haven't opened it in more than a month. I think it's more likely that I'll read Alison Weir's non-fiction account of Katherine's life.

Fine print
Katherine, by Anya Seton
Genre: historical fiction
Photo from Goodreads
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