Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess Audiobook

" With the minimal amount of information available on Katherine I think Weir did a great job piecing her story together. And showing us how future monarchs are descended from them. "

" Katherine was probably more fun to read, but this one was so much less frustrating. I'm glad I read them both. Amazing how much information can be gleaned from so few records. "

" An interesting read. As usual there really isn't much info about Katherine (like alot of medieval ladies) but the book was still good for background information about the reign of Edward III as well as about John of Gaunt. "

" Despite my love of history, I had a hard time getting into this one. The genealogies reminded me a bit too much of the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Despite the author's best attempts to make inferences based on factual details, there just wasn't enough extant information to make much of a read. "

" One of my favourites by Weir. She was the founder and mother of a dynasty. "

" I've read quite a few biographies by Alison Weir, but this one was very disappointing. Weir is clearly an exhaustive researcher, but what can one do with a personage whose life is largely speculation and gossip in the first place? In a sense, I give the author credit for producing a book in excess of 300 pages based on so few verifiable facts. After a while, I felt annoyed that Weir was only able to write things like: Katherine must have spent that Christmas with her children, or Perhaps Katherine was protecting her Beaufort children, or She might have felt...." I plan to read the historical fiction book Katherine by Anya Seton, addressed by Weir in the Appendix. At least it is not presented as anything but historical fiction, and given the cast of characters that peopled Katherine's life, it promises to be a good read. "

" I've enjoyed many of Alison Weir's books in the past. This one is also good, though parts of it got repetitive. I got interested in this one because one genealogist thinks she may be one of my ancestors. Cool. "

" Although Alison Weir's research is sometimes suspect (don't read "The Princes in the Tower"!), this is an interesting book. "

" Unfortunately we'll never know what Katherine Swynford looked like, what she sounded like, what her personality was. Ms. Weir does an excellent job with the facts available, but while it was informative, there's no way to really animate such a biography. "

" A more scholarly take on Anya Seyton's 'Katherine'. "

" Love the author...very interesting story, but a lot of dates in this one. "

" Excellent-- if a bit repetitive in the language. An unusual subject and well researched. "

" Not as good as some of her others - this focused primarily on John of Gaunt and Geoffrey Chaucer. She does discuss Seton's Katherine and offers a great chapter on the descendents of the affair. "

" not much is known about Katherine Swynford, but Ms. Weir paints as clear of a picture as she can. nicely done with lots of strong sources. "

" Haven't gotten far into the book. It's more an academic text then a fun read. "

" I listened to this book on my ipod. As always, Alison Weir makes history fascinating and as entertaining as fiction. "

" If you loved the book Katherine by Anya Seton, this is the historical account of Katherine Swynford's life. Meticulously researched and pretty interesting! "

" I never had heard of this matriarch of kings and queens of Britain. What a refreshing read at history. It also read to Kathryn by Anna Seton. That was a wonderful book too. "

" A bit dry for Alison Weir and a lot of conjecture as well. However, it is certainly redeeming as presenting a complete look at the middle ages in England and the political intrigue that governed the day (and still does). "

" Didn't finish: very scholarly & not in the mood for so much fine print; fairly obscure figure; lost interest. Pretty cover =) Good photos. "