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Anya Seton

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Anya Seton (January 23, 1904 – November 8, 1990), born Ann Seton, was a wealthy, twice-married, American socialite, famous as an author of historical novels based upon her thorough historical research. Her 1944 novel Dragonwyck and her 1951 novel Foxfire were adapted into famous and successful movies. Her most critically acclaimed novels are Katherine (1954) and The Winthrop Woman (1958).

Quotes

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  • The Beautiful Adulteress had been lent by Phoebe Mead, and it must be finished by nightfall so that Phoebe could return it to Deborah Wilson, who had purloined it from her brother's saddlebag.
    Despite Miranda's eighteen years and elegant education at Philander Button's Greenwich Academy, despite avid perusal of this and similar books, she had not the vaguest notion of the horrifying behavior that resulted in one's becoming an adulteress. But that point was immaterial.
    It was the glorious palpitating romance that mattered. The melancholy heroes, the languishing heroines, the clanking ghosts, dismal castles and supernatural lights; all entrancingly punctuated at intervals by a tender, a rapturous—but in any case a guilty—kiss.
  • On the night of the great storm, the taproom at the Hearth and Eagle was deserted. Earlier that evening men had wandered in for beers or rum flip—shore men all of them now, too old to go out with the fishing fleet. They had drunk uneasily, the pewter mugs shaking in their vein-corded hands, while they listened to the rising wind. Ever more boisterous gusts puffed down the big chimney scattering fine ash over the scrubbed boards. In the Great Harbor two hundred yards away, the mounting breakers roared up the shingle, muffling the clink of mugs on the table and the men's sparse comments.
  • From all of the nearby shires, from as far away as Northumberland and Devon and Lincolnshire, the people were flocking to celebrate St. George's Day at Windsor. Weeks ago the King's herald had galloped throughout the country proclaiming the great tournament and inviting all valorous knights to come and participate. There would be tilting at the quintain and other knightly games; there would be jousts and challenges, and there would be a climaxing tourney, or melee, for all contenders. Most of the knights and arrived at Windsor some days ago, and the lesser ones who cloud not be accommodated in the castle were already encamped on the plain below the walls in a bivouac of multicolored tents; many had brought their ladies, and all, of course, their squires.
    But the common people, though not specifically invited, were welcome, too. For these, five hundred oxen were roasting at charcoal fires dotted around the fields, vats of beer had been set up, and a thousand loaves of barley bread already baked for distribution.

The Winthrop Woman (1958)

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  • The children romped together in pasture and farmland, they raced on shaggy ponies, they sailed chips amid protesting ducks on the pond, they wandered the nearby woods and stuffed themselves with wild strawberries. They explored all the fascinating features of the Manor lands, the mill with its big slowly turning sails, the little heath where Harry had once found some Roman coins, the ruins of a castle haunted by a headless lady in gray.

Quotes about Anya Seton

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  • Katherine, the story of the mistress and later, the wife of John of Gaunt, was the sixth of the ten popular novels ... written by Anya Seton. All of Seton’s novels were best sellers, yet in the fifty years since its original publication, Katherine stands apart, showing the longevity of a classic. This is illustrated most clearly by the book’s inclusion in the listing of the top 100 favorite books in the BBC Big Read (2003).
  • Seton spent several years researching Katherine, and her book has been repeatedly commended for its historical accuracy. It has even been listed in the bibliographies of works of historical nonfiction, which is no mean achievement. On the debit side, this has resulted in it achieving more credibility for accuracy than it deserves ... It is important to note that Katherine is essentially a novel, and although its author made impressive and commendable efforts to get her facts right, there are three good reasons why we should not accept hers as a valid portrayal of the historical Katherine Swynford.
    First, Katherine is essentially of its own time. Seton's John of Gaunt is derived partly from nineteenth-century perception of him ... and partly from Clark Gable's portrayal of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind: ... one Internet reviewer described John of Gaunt, as depicted in the novel, as the "sexiest hero since Rhett Butler." ...
    Second, Katherine is as much about Anya Seton as it is about Katherine Swynford. ...
    The third reason we should be cautious in accepting Anya Seton's portrayal of Katherine Swynford as historically accurate is that Katherine is essentially a romantic novel in the classic sense. ... Threaded through it are the classic romantic clichés of remembered childhood, unrequited love, cruel conflict, and lonely exile.
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