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  • Katherine Swynford

  • The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess
  • By: Alison Weir
  • Narrated by: Judith Boyd
  • Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (103 ratings)
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Katherine Swynford cover art

Katherine Swynford

By: Alison Weir
Narrated by: Judith Boyd
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Summary

In this remarkable book, Alison Weir recounts one of the greatest and most remarkable love stories of medieval England. It is the extraordinary tale of an exceptional woman, Katherine Swynford, who became first the mistress, and later the wife, of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

But Katherine Swynford was much more than that. She was the mother of the Beauforts, and through them the ancestress of the Yorkist Kings, the Tudors, the Stuarts and every other sovereign since - a prodigious legacy which has shaped the history of Britain.

©2007 Alison Weir (P)2007 WF Howes Ltd
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"Weir provides immense satisfaction. She writes in a pacy, vivid style, engaging the heart as it does the mind." ( The Independent)
"Alison Weir's hugely popular history books are as gripping as novels." ( The Times, London)
"Alison Weir is one of our greatest popular historians." ( The Daily Mail)

What listeners say about Katherine Swynford

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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

This is a fabulous book, and I was really looking forward to having the audio version of it. What a disappointing narration! I can best describe it a plonky, a bit like someone reading to little children, not really fitting for a book about such a fascinating woman. I didn't even make it past the first hour, a waste of a credit, but never mind...

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

History made dreary.

I really wanted to like this audiobook, having heard about the book on BBC Radio's Woman's Hour and finding the discussion of the subject fascinating. Sadly it turns out to be one of those books that doesn't do well when read aloud. All the dates, asides and, I presume, footnotes which one can either choose to skip, scan or study by choice when reading a book become turgid in the extreme when being read out in the same, measured tones. I persevered longer than the one hour mentioned in another review - but really, really wish I hadn't. Definite waste of a credit, but at least I had not paid the actual cash for it. For a much better aural experience I heartily recommend Ian Mortimer's The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. That really is a treat for the ears.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

A waste of a credit...

This is not a novel, but an audible list of historical opinions/facts/records researched by the author. Consequently not of interest to me; lacking flow and continuity. A waste of a credit in my opinion.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

As good as the 1st time

I first read this book over 40ys ago and decided to have the luxury of having it read to me this time. I missed so much 1st time round, this time I realised that this wasn't just the story of a great love but a social history of its time. It has fired my imagination and interest and I now want to revisit this whole period of history. I just love a book that leads you to more.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Very interesting but title should focus on John of

I enjoyed the book for most parts but feel that the title is misleading as it focusses on John of Gaunt rather than Katherine Swynford - understandably so as there remains so little evidence of her actual life. However, I feel this should be reflected in the book's title.
The speaker should not attempt different accents as it annoys abd distracts and I also found the spelling of names and equations to today's money values very distracting.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Katherine Swynford

Although not much is known about Katherine Swynford, Alison Weir manages to give the reader a detailed account of her life before and after she became duchess of Lancaster. The narration was good. A must read.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Nothing of her character

This was a little disappointing. No doubt the facts were all quite correct and in the right order, but I know nothing more of the fascinating Katherine Swynford than I did before. I knew all the dates, I wanted more insight into her as a living being. I got none. It read like a history lecture, not all that well delivered.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Biography

This is not fiction, but pure biography and history, drawing probable conclusions based on known facts and existing documents. Therefore, full of dates and names as it is, it's not really adequate for listening, but rather for reading on paper. I did like it, however, and I indend to read more of the kind, but I'm going to choose the timing carefully, making sure that the circumstances are propitious and that I'm ready to give it the level of attention required.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Rich and satisfying

Not your average silly historical romp, but a serious work of scholarship, packed with facts and well supported argument. Not as gripping as her earlier 'Isabella', but a thorough study of the life of an influential woman in the reign of Richard II.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Amazing Katherine Swynford

What a fabulous story. The history of our monarchy which all spawned from this amazing woman. I loved listening to this book. I confess I had found "reading" the book too tedious. All those dates and tooing and froing, pretty hard to grasp, but listening to the story .... well I now have it all in my head ( and my heart).

Well read by Judith Boyd and well done Audible.

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2 people found this helpful