Dramatic events that aren't really explored. Katherine and John become lovers, then the novel fast-forwards to a time when they have a couple of children and he has married someone else for political purposes. Read moreĮngaging novel about Katherine, the mistress and later third wife of John of Gaunt. I listened to the audio version which is very well narrated by Wanda McCaddon, aka Nadia May. Strongly recommended for fans of historical fiction. While their relationship is at the heart of the novel, it is much more than a romance novel, as Seton does a wonderful job of bringing the 14th century vividly to life with rich detail, and putting the story firmly in the context of important historical events. They were lovers over a great number of years and had 4 bastard children, named Beaufort, and eventually married in 1396, three years before the passing of the duke.
Married off at a young age to a knight she actively disliked, she nonetheless caught the eye of John of Gaunt, of the House of Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the third son of King Edward III. There are few known facts about what kind of woman Katherine was, which gave Seton plenty of leeway to turn her into a beautiful, strong-willed woman. The Katherine of the title is Katherine Swynford (1350-1403), an important figure in English history as she is the ancestress of many royal figures, and also, incidentally, sister-in-law to Geoffrey Chaucer, who married her sister Philippa.
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