About this title: In her remarkable new book, Weir recounts one of history's greatest love stories: the extraordinary tale of Katherine Swynford, an exceptional woman who became the lover, mistress, and eventually the wife of John of Gaunt, one of England's most powerful medieval princes. 16-page color photo insert.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2009-01-27
ISBN-13:9780345453235ISBN:0345453239
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780345453235. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780345453235ISBN:0345453239
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First US Edition; First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780345453235ISBN:0345453239
Description: New in New dust jacket. 9780345453235. New stated first U. S. Edition, first printing hardcover and dust jacket in excellent condition. Protective mylar cover.; 1.3 x 9.3 x 6.3 Inches; 416 pages. read more
Edition: First US Edition; First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780345453235ISBN:0345453239
Description: New in New dust jacket. 9780345453235. 2009 stated first U. S. Edition, first printing hardcover and dust jacket in excellent condition. Flat signed by author on title page. Protective mylar cover.; 1.3 x 9.3 x 6.3 Inches; 416 pages; Signed by Author. read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: Random House Inc
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780345453235ISBN:0345453239
Description: In her remarkable new book, Weir recounts one of history's greatest love stories: the extraordinary tale of Katherine Swynford, an exceptional woman who became the lover, mistress, and eventually the wife of John of Gaunt, one of England's most power... read more
"I am a huge fan of Alison Weir, i love historical fiction and loved both her Innocent traitor and the lady elizabeth-You must read! I have always been fasinated by Katherine Swynford after reading Anya Seatons Katherine as a child. Problem is we know so little about her and as Alison Weir demonstrates in her book there is nothing left behind of her true voice. Such a shame. But still a very interesting historical read. Recommended."
"I actually 'read' the audiobook, starting it on the trip back through upstate New York after dropping a child at camp. I don't know that I would have enjoyed reading this book as much as I appreciated hearing it. The narrative is a summary of the life of Katherine Swynford, who was the 3rd wife of John of Gaunt. They lived during the 14th century. At times the narrative seemed tedious, full of details of the comings and goings - and boy, did they move around. Back and forth between England and the continent, trips to the Holy Land, trips to their many houses, estates and where ever the current king was in court, or into hiding when things got difficult. I was impressed by the number of children some families had. John of Gaunt had about 10 brothers and sisters. I was also impressed by how the children were moved around from family to family. Katherine's mom probably died when she was young, because when she was just 2 she was 'sent' to live with John's family. Just when I would think that I couldn't stand another detail about where Katherine went next, the author would move in another direction and pick up the history of a related person, like a sister (Philippa, who was the wife of Chaucer) or fill in a detail about Katherine's father. The text is very detailed, providing currency conversions to modern amounts, and details about the current status of house and castles that are being described. The final chapters are descriptions of the subsequent family tree that came from Katherine and John's 4 children. This is very difficult to follow in an audio book, and I don't know if it would be easier in written form - because there were an abundance of Johns, Henrys, Thomas, and Joans where were children, aunts, uncles and cousins of the orignal Beauforts of that name; made worse by the fact that many had titles.
All this said, the book kept my interest - and I was sorry when I finished."
"Katherine Swynford: longtime mistress and third wife of John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III and probably the most powerful private citizen England has ever had. Katherine is the subject of a famous historical fiction book of the same name by Anya Seton, and here she's the subject of a scholarly biography. She's a thin subject for a biography, since nothing written by her has come to us through history, but Alison Weir turns it into a "Katherine and the England she lived in" kind of book, and it's well done. For a more fully imagined story, try the Seton novel."
"Mistress of the Monarchy is a biography of Katherine Swynford, the Duchess of Lancaster. Swynford was the long-time mistress and eventual third wife of John of Gaunt. She also became the ancestor of every English monarch since 1461 as well as such notable personages such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Franklin Roosevelt, Princess Diana, Sir Winston Churchill, and George Bush.
Author Alison Weir is a prolific historian who has authored many books, non-fiction and novels, about members of the royal family. Weir did a meticulous job in researching this book, but despite her efforts, little information about Katherine has survived. So she describes those who surrounded Katherine, including her brother-in-law Thomas Chaucer, and the particularities of the time.
The most interesting aspect of the book is the insight she provides into life in the 1300s. The cultural trends she describes, from the tendency to marry young (Katherine married between twelve and thirteen years of age and had her first child one year later) to the debilitating effects of the Black Death gives readers a vivid insight into the challenging environment people lived in at that time. Weir describes the vast wealth and luxury of the noble class, the resentment of the common people, the difficulties of battle, relations between states and high-ranking people, moral codes, lawlessness at the borders, the importance of religion and the roles of women.
The main details readers can infer about Katherine is that she was beautiful, intelligent, accomplished, discreet, good with children, didn't abuse her influence and kept on good relations with people. While the book opens with an intriguing scene in which John of Gaunt rode around estates with mistress, holding her bridle in public (a public sign of his possession of her) and in the presence of his own wife, Weir doesn't return to this sense of confrontational scandal later in the book. Besides the fact that the affair and the later marriage were scandalous, the focus remains on Katherine's discretion and devotion.
Given the lack of information available about Katherine, the title used in the UK version, Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess, gives a more accurate impression of the book. The figure of John of Gaunt comes through more clearly than does Katherine, as do his first two wives and his dealings with various heads of state. Readers see his love for his first wife, his propensity toward promiscuity, his religious repentance and renewed devotion to his second wife, his bravado in battle, his relations with his relatives and children.
The strength of the book lies in the detailed historical research, the sense of place and time and the resurrection of a forgotten matriarch. Occasionally, the voice loses its vigor, descending into extensive genealogical information or architectural descriptions. Since Katherine's main contribution to history was her romantic liaison and her descendants and the available details of her personal life are few, there is little narrative arc or tension to propel readers through the book. For those with an interest in the middle ages or in royal history, this is a valuable reconstruction of an overlooked woman and a fascinating historical period.
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