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period-dramallama · 3 months

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Review: Katherine by Anya Seton

I know I know I said I would have time at the end of last year, but then I got bitten by a plot bunny and after that I had my annual New Year holiday at my mum’s, AND THEN I got bitten by another plot bunny…

TLDR: an enjoyable read, but my high expectations were disappointed.

The plot

At times the novel was very slow, but it felt slice-of-life looking at different aspects of the 14th century: the plague, jousts, pilgrimage, murder, the Peasant’s Revolt. The title ‘Katherine’ is rather misleading because the world around her is much more interesting than she is, frankly. And while the pace is slow, the murder of [SPOILER] is a good source of dramatic irony: waiting for the characters to find out the terrible secret.

You can see the seeds of the dynastic dispute that will become the Wars of the Roses: Mortimer thinking that his descendants by Philippa will get the throne sooner than John’s descendants. Cob’s subplot with Katherine was good.

Also good on Anya for not lazily confusing her history and remembering that the young Hotspur of Shakespeare is not the same as the historical dude, who was much older than Harry of Monmouth. It was good to see Hotspur, although I think his fame from Shakespeare is probably the reason he’s in the book. At times the book is like a who’s who of 14th century England: Katherine meets Julian of Norwich. It’s also fun to see Chaucer and the references to his work and historical people influencing his writing. I liked his perspective on the Peasants’ Revolt: he’s hidden in his rooms, passing the time with his stories, so he comes out to see the destruction like that gif of the man who enters the burning living room with pizza.

Gaunt confronts the archbishop at St Paul’s and it’s a great set piece.

More Wycliffe and John of Gaunt, please! I loved seeing John of Gaunt use Wycliffe for his own political ends. “John was truly devout in a hearty male way… he believed as his father and mother had believed, so Wyclif had ended by horrifying him.”

Whoever wrote that placard calling Gaunt a Flemish changeling…truly the winner of the Darwin Award. My guy, at least disguise your handwriting.

I did get a sense of the importance of religion to medieval people, which was good:

“What then was certain? What was there that would not shift and veer at the mercy of the winds of feeling?”

“Sanctity, the clergy said. Prayer. The practice of religion. The benevolence of the holy saints. The Grace of God.”

“He had not pointed out that the devil’s hand with the five fingers of lechery gripped a man by the lions, to throw him into the furnace of Hell.”

The action scenes, for want of a better phrase, are also well-written: “But on the second course he shattered the boy’s spear and, though his own lance point was broken off by the shock, he swerved Morel and, coolly slanting the butt of his lance into the boy’s armpit- beneath the breastplate, lifted him from his saddle and deposited him on the ground.”

The writing

“During the time of terror and hideous death there had been no dignity of mourning, and now in the honours done the Duchess they could weep quietly for their own dead, too.”

The plague sequence was well written: atmospheric, full of doom and dread.

Sometimes the writing was….IMHO, bordering on the silly. “Lay bathed in a moony light” “the blue Percy lions on their surcoats jigged in and out with their fierce breathings.” Anya, baby, don’t write under the influence. It’s not a good idea.

The medieval songs were a welcome inclusion that made the world feel more real.

There are some good turns of phrase in this book: “He’s swollen with pride and no doubt March has been puffing it with the hot air of promises.”

“Bloodshed-“ the friar smiled faintly. “Blood is all you knights understand.”

“There’s still the bishops! May the devil’s pitchforks prick their fat rumps until they’ve bled out all the gold!”

“like released bowstrings, the two hundred diners jumped to their feet and waited.”

Anya writes crowds and the mood of crowds well, she is good at depicting mass hysteria and mob mentality. “Already a dozen heads had rolled into the central gutter, which ran crimson. Vultures and kites perched high above on the house gables, watching as intently as the crowd did.”

There are some lovely expressions of emotion. “Humility struck Katherine, even shame that she had dared to expect love from such a man as this.” “Am I then nothing of myself? She thought with anguish. Can I not live apart from memories of him”

There’s humorous moments too. “The excited fishmonger had just caught sight of Katherine standing like a church statue beyond his angry wife.” “She held out a fat dimpled hand so loaded with diamonds that Katherine, as she curtsied, could scarce find space to kiss.” “There he may cool his ardours by taming the Scots, who are rampaging as usual. God bless them.” “They were recounting with relish the horrors of the revolt in London two months ago, while a Norfolk man insisted that they had had a worse time of it up here than any Londoner could know.” “Five children stood by a thatched stable which enclosed crudely painted homemade figures of the nativity, and loudly disputed whether the Baby were smiling or not.”

The characters

Take a shot every time Katherine’s beauty is mentioned or described. You will pass out. There are fewer references to her beauty as the book goes on.

“She had beauty still, the thinness of her flesh but exposed the grace of her bones and sinews.”

…mostly fewer references.

“He reached out his finger to touch the white streaks at her temples. “Age on you has but added swan’s wings to your fairness,” he said wryly, “while I’m grizzled and hacked like an old badger.”

I said FEWER references, not none.

“They stared at each other in a struggle that racked them both, and she clung to the sudden enmity between them as a shield.” “They stood looking at each other, breathing as though they raced with time.”

The chemistry between John and Katherine has promise, but the development of the attraction is pretty thin. There is attraction between them but at almost halfway through the book, I still didn’t get what Katherine’s appeal was to him, apart from her beauty. She’s the main character, yet I didn’t get a sense of a personality. Philippa ‘Pica’ Chaucer might be brash and grating to the people around her, but at least I could describe her to you. What’s Katherine’s personality? Um…she’s beautiful? She’s a controlling parent to Blanchette? She’s a loyal friend to Blanche? And….um…yeah.

John goes from desiring Katherine to suddenly saying he loves her: it’s a very abrupt change in his feelings.

“Inclination and good taste” prevent Katherine from interfering in politics. It’s “men’s business” and she’s framed as better than that meddling realm-ruiner Alice Perrers (boo!hiss!)

It might seem hypocritical of me to criticise Katherine being apolitical- didn’t I just say I wanted Katherine to have more personality and now she has a definable personality trait I’m criticising it for not being the personality I wanted?

But I do think it’s a missed opportunity. Yes, I’m biased, I like scheming women, but I really do think it would be a more interesting book if Katherine paid attention to John of Gaunt’s activities, maybe even advised him. It would serve as a window into John of Gaunt, who he is, what drives him. There’s nothing wrong with wanting the quiet life but it does make Katherine rather passive. Dozens and dozens of pages go by without Katherine and the duke interacting. Their reunion at the end is lovely, but it would be even better if their relationship was well-developed. “This castle was his, the bread she ate, the clothes she wore came from his bounty. Like the hundreds in his retinue, like his children, like this young squire who stood waiting respectfully before her, she had no course but submission.” I like the realism of this passage, but again, it does feel like a missed opportunity to get closer to John of Gaunt’s inner workings. There is a scene where John confides in Katherine by her coaxing, and it’s a pleasant scene, but it’s all the more frustrating because it’s the only time. “His need for her deepened, he talked to her more freely about all his concerns, and he kept her with him constantly, showing her many public as well as private signs of his love.”

That’s the good stuff! I don’t want that information in passing, I want to see it happen! That’s what I want to read! Not Reminder no. 312 that Katherine Is Beautiful!

(Maybe this is a sign that I should be reading a novel about Alice Perrers instead. Or writing one? Eyes emoji.)

“But by night, sometimes she was with him in dreams. In these dreams there was love between them, tenderness greater than there had really been. She awoke from these with her body throbbing and a sense of agonising loss.” I was struck by the nuance and the pessimism of this passage. It was a different kind of love story than I had expected from a ‘classic romance’.

“She was no longer simply ‘Katherine’ she must adjust again to the various labels that the world would give her, and the demands fair and unfair that it would make.”

That’s great but I still don’t know who Katherine IS beneath all these labels!!

I did like this moment with Katherine during the Peasants’ Revolt. Anya astutely summarised some historical truths: she gets it right where Margaret Mitchell got it wrong:

“A good manor lord cares for his serfs,” she continued. “He gives them ale feasts and alms. In time of trouble he protects them, feeds them, and he administers justice for them that they have not the understanding to do for themselves. They’re like his children.”

The friar gave his rare chuckle. “You voice the arguments for slavery that are old as Babylon and have satisfied many. There are however others who prefer freedom to any benefits – I don’t know,” he added half to himself, “what is God’s law.”

I was not expecting Katherine to imprison her daughter for disobedience, especially as the real Blanchette seems to have died younger.

(However, espousing the views of the time is still not a personality.)

“Katherine, who was always just, stroked the dark curls.” Always just??? Anya?? My sister in Christ, she bullied Blanchette into marriage, that’s not just!!

Anya definitely has Opinions about gender roles. Katherine’s femininity is Good and Modest and Natural, Richard’s femininity is Sinister and Unnatural.

“Ay, there was perversion of all sorts dwelling behind those tinted beardless cheeks, the gold-powdered curls, the tall slender body that bore itself so haughtily in violet brocade which gave forth a wave of scent as he passed.”

“Next came a giggling, mincing group of young men in skintight hose that showed their thighs, and more, and who wore velvet shoes with points half a yard long – Richard’s contemporaries and cronies.”

Why is literally everyone in this novel more interesting than Katherine? This novel is like a bagel: a hearty ring, but the centre is a hole, a void.

#historical fiction #book reviews #book review #katherine by anya seton #anya seton

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totheroses · 5 months

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— Anya Seton, Dragonwyck

#anya seton #dragonwyck #gothic fiction #quotes

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saintmaudes · 8 months

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In the twilight the great pile of stone looked gigantic as its turrets and gables loomed against the dark sky. The portieres had all been drawn and no light showed. Here there was neither warmth, vitality, nor comfort. It's evil and unhealthy, this place, thought Jeff. It belongs to a dying age.

—Anya Seton, Dragonwyck

#going to the evil houses list 🥰#dragonwyck #anya seton #w #the haunted house #upl

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rumcakesandmushrooms · 9 months

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So tiring that Dragonwyck is already not a very well known novel but the few posts we have of it here are 99% about it's horribly abusive narcissist male lead Nicholas instead of Miranda the protagonist 😒

#dragonwyck #anya seton #miranda wells #books

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whosafraidofvirginiawoolf · 1 year

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To me there is no beauty without mystery and shadow.

— Dragonwyck, Anya Seton

#dragonwyck #anya seton #literature #quotes #quote

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pilibdc · 8 months

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Currently Reading

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

Picked this up at a used bookstore, I have no real clue what it’s about aside from a farm girl moving into a manor house. From the description it might be horror and/or Romance

#booklr #used books #currently reading #dragonwyck #anya seton #outdoor reading

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weirdesplinder · 1 year

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Questo fine 2022 invece dei soliti post dedicati ai libri natalizi o ai riassuntoni di cosa si è letto durante l’anno, siccome per me questo è stato un anno horribilis da dimenticare, ho deciso di regalarvi una serie di post e video dedicati ai LIBRI CON VIAGGI NEL TEMPO.

Cosa c’è di meglio per fuggire alla realtà che viaggiare nel tempo?

Spero queste lista vi saranno utili e vi intratterranno, e come sempre vi invito ad aggiungere i vostri titoli preferiti di questo genere.Ogni lista è specifica di un genere per agevolarvi e suddividere il LISTONE che altrimenti sarebbe stato lunghissimo.

Questo è il terzo video della serie quello dedicato a: LIBRI IN ITALIANO CON VIAGGI NEL TEMPO SEZIONE ROMANCE:

-L'ultimo dei templari, Karen Marie Moning (serie di 8 libri)

Link: https://amzn.to/3F2POli

Nel Quattordicesimo secolo l'Ordine dei Templari viene messo al bando; i suoi cavalieri, perseguitati in tutta Europa, vengono accolti in Scozia, in grande segretezza. Circenn Brodie è uno di loro, un guerriero immortale, custode delle reliquie sacre dell'Ordine e di una boccetta dal contenuto magico, appartenente al popolo delle fate. Il suo è un mondo retto da formule magiche e regole antichissime. Quando Lisa Stone viene catapultata dai giorni nostri in un castello medievale, tra le braccia dell'affascinante guerriero, la sua vita sembra crollare in un istante. Sarà un sogno o un terribile scherzo del destino? Nessuno dei due è pronto a questo incontro, ma nulla potranno contro la magia che sta per travolgerli.

-La moglie dell'uomo che viaggiava nel tempo, di Audry Niffenegger

Link: https://amzn.to/39fphjh

Quando Henry incontra Clare, lui ha ventott'anni e lei venti. Lui non ha mai visto lei, lei conosce lui da quando ha sei anni… Potrebbe iniziare così questo libro, racconto di un'intensa storia d'amore, raccontata da due voci che si alternano e si confrontano. Si costruisce così sotto gli occhi del lettore la vita di una coppia e poi di una famiglia cosparsa di gioie e di tragedie, sempre sotto la minaccia di qualcosa che nessuno dei due può prevenire o controllare. Artista, professore all'Interdisciplinary Book Arts MFA di Chicago, Audrey Niffenegger firma con questo libro il suo primo romanzo.

-Patto col passato, di Susan Price (serie di 3 libri ma solo il primo è stato pubblicato in italiano)

Link: https://amzn.to/2JXLeuE

Viaggio nel tempo tra il Ventunesimo e il Sedicesimo secolo: una Metropolitana del Tempo garantisce il collegamento e consente a un gruppo di scienziati di entrare in contatto col passato, quando la Terra era ancora ricchissima di risorse inesplorate e con i suoi abitanti, il clan degli Sterkarm che vivono in una cupa torre. Andrea, una ragazza grassa e goffa del Ventunesimo secolo spedita come spia nel Sedicesimo diventa popolarissima e si fidanza con il bellissimo Per Sterkarm, il figlio del capoclan. Sarà Andrea a salvargli la vita quando, ferito, lo farà curare nel suo secolo. Il romanzo prosegue tra avventure e passioni.

-Le parole del nostro destino, Beatriz Williams

Link: https://amzn.to/3OHNJhO

Amiens, Francia, 1916. Incurante della pioggia battente, una donna è in attesa fuori della cattedrale. Tra i fedeli raccolti in preghiera, c'è il capitano Julian Ashford, l'uomo per cui lei ha sacrificato ogni cosa e che tuttavia non rivedrà mai più. Quando tornerà in trincea, Julian morirà. Ma lei è lì per riscrivere il loro destino. Il nome della donna è Kate… New York, oggi. Incurante del gelo, una donna è in attesa davanti alla porta di Julian Laurence: sebbene sia la vigilia di Natale, deve consegnargli dei documenti urgentissimi. I due si sono conosciuti il giorno precedente, eppure, quando lei entra in casa, lui si comporta come se l'aspettasse da sempre, come se l'amasse da sempre. Ricambiare quell'amore le sarà facile: Julian è uno degli uomini più ricchi e affascinanti di Manhattan, è romantico, appassionato, intenso, Per qualche mese, la vita diventa un sogno da cui non ci si vorrebbe svegliare mai più… Ma poi, dal nulla, spunta un libro: la biografia di Julian Ashford, un prezioso volume corredato di foto e di lettere scritte dal celebre poeta-soldato durante la prima guerra mondiale. La donna non ha dubbi: la calligrafia elegante e ordinata, gli occhi gentili, il volto che s'intravede sotto il berretto sono del suo Julian. E quel libro sta per segnare il loro destino. Il nome della donna è Kate… In un turbine di sentimenti e di misteri, di speranze e di passione, “Le parole del nostro destino” racconta la storia di un amore vero, un amore unico, un amore eterno.

-La straniera, di Diana Gabaldon (serie di 9 libri)

Link: https://amzn.to/3qwXHVH

Nel 1945 Claire Randall, un'infermiera militare, si riunisce al marito alla fine della guerra in una sorta di seconda luna di miele nelle Highland scozzesi. Durante una passeggiata la giovane donna attraversa uno dei cerchi di pietre antiche che si trovano in quelle zone. All'improvviso si trova proiettata indietro nel tempo, di colpo straniera in una Scozia dilaniata dalla guerra e dai conflitti tra i clan nell'anno del Signore 1743. Catapultata nel passato da forze che non capisce, Claire si trova coinvolta in intrighi e pericoli che mettono a rischio la sua stessa vita e il suo cuore.

- Verde oscurità, di Anya Seton

Link: https://amzn.to/3bS2ygd

Una residenza aristocratica e misteriosa, Medfield Place, nel Sussex. Una donna che cade in coma e rivive nell'incoscienza il tormentato amore di una sua ava per un monaco dell'epoca Tudor. Un peccato da redimere, in bilico tra passato e presente… Un affascinante romanzo sull'enigma della reincarnazione.

-L'uomo dei miei sogni, di Jude Deveraux

Link: https://amzn.to/3OI9Pk7

La bella americana Dougless aveva fatto di tutto perché quella vacanza in Inghilterra con il fidanzato Robert fosse perfetta e indimenticabile. Invece, per colpa di un litigio, lui la pianta in asso senza bagagli né denaro in una chiesa sperduta in mezzo alla campagna. Mentre lei è in lacrime sulla tomba di un cavaliere, appare al suo fianco un uomo straordinario, alto e prestante, con un'armatura che gli arriva alla vita, calzoncini a palloncino e tanto di calzamaglia. È Nicholas Stafford, conte di Thornwyck, morto nel 1564 ma verso il quale Dougless si sente spingere da una forza sconosciuta. Legami misteriosi e insondabili sembrano unirli fuori dal tempo, in un amore sospeso tra due epoche senza possibilità di un futuro. A meno che Dougless trovi il modo di cambiare il corso della storia, salvando così l'unico uomo che lei abbia mai veramente amato.

- Grande amore, Ann Brashares

Link: https://amzn.to/3F0VbkN

Trama: Daniel ha attraversato gli oceani del tempo per trovare Sophia. La “memoria”, la capacità di ricordare la sua vita passata, è per lui un dono ma anche una maledizione. Ora Sophia è Lucy, una studentessa liceale, e non crede a una sola parola di ciò che le dice Daniel: le sembra impossibile che nelle loro precedenti vite si siano amati e poi siano stati separati da una crudele forza misteriosa. Ma Daniel sa che loro due sono stati insieme: in Asia Minore nel 552, nell’Inghilterra del 1918, e poi in Virginia nel 1972. Brevi, fugaci attimi di passione che la morte ha sempre brutalmente spezzato. Anche oggi le loro anime si stanno cercando, e ancora una volta quella misteriosa forza è pronta a separarli. Un’avventura romantica che si snoda attraverso i secoli per abbracciare non una ma tante vite, inseguendo l’unico, vero, grande amore.

#youtube #diana gabaldon #ann brashares #jude deveraux #anya seton #beatriz wiilliams #susan price #karen marie moning #libri con viaggi nel tempo

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myhikari21things · 1 year

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Read of Katherine by Anya Seton (1954) (500pgs)

#katherine #anya seton #fiction #paperback #1950s #reread

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first--lines · 1 year

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In the tender green time of April, Katherine set forth at last upon her journey with the two nuns and the royal messenger.

— Katherine (Anya Seton)

#book quotes #historical fiction #romance fiction #anya seton #katherine

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period-dramallama · 3 months

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"Katherine is also considered one of the greatest examples of a historical-fiction love story ever written. In a poll conducted in the 1990s by Ladies' Home Journal, the novel ranked among the top-ten all-time best love stories.

Weir was inspired by Katherine to become an author of historical fiction,[8][9] and the novel would also later inspire her non-fiction study, Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess (2008) (U.S. title, Mistress of the Monarchy, The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster). It examines Seton's novel in historiographic terms and, while praising its general historical accuracy, categorizes it as primarily a feminist romance."

I disagree with the idea that Katherine is a feminist romance. For me, Feminism 101 is Girl Power: celebrating women being good at masculine things- Girls Can Do What Boys Can Do. (Feminism 102 is celebrating women being good at feminine things AND masculine things- Girls Can Do What Boys Can Do And What Girls Were Doing Was Already Valuable).

As I said in my review of Katherine:

“Inclination and good taste” prevent Katherine from interfering in politics. It’s “men’s business” and she’s framed as better than that meddling realm-ruiner Alice Perrers (boo!hiss!)

That's not feminist. Anya Seton has failed Feminism 101.

Yes, it was published in 1954, but Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain was published in 1953 and was markedly more feminist, having a healthy respect for Elizabeth's intelligence and her political acumen. Her taking the throne is a Good Thing.

In the top 10 best love stories? One of the best historical-fiction love stories?

Nah. The love story isn't as much of a focus in the book as you'd expect. It needed more development and I think it was hindered by the un-feminist choice to make Katherine apolitical. If Katherine had more agency, if she was involved in the duke's business, if she was like his consigliere, then the relationship would be better fleshed out. And Katherine's lack of personality doesn't help the romance either. A truly great romantic novel is where the characters are great together, but they have personalities as stand alone characters. Katherine pales in comparison to Elizabeth Bennet or Jane Eyre.

#katherine #i like that my mutuals disagree on this book #some love it some hate it some are meh #historical fiction #anya seton

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