I always thought it was a shame Shakespeare didn't include Katherine Swynford among the cast, but then he probably didn't have enough good boy actors available. Still. Her life is one that historical novelists would catch no end of complaints about for inventing if it hadn't actually happened ("oh, sure, first she's the governess, then she spends thirty years as his mistress, and then he marries her - and her brother-in-law is the most famous poet of the age to boot, and did I mention the flash forward where her descendants make it to the throne?") , and because of her outsider pov, her perspective on everyone would be invaluable.
(It's entirely Wheel of Fortune's fault that I keep expecting versions of John of Gaunt to say "and here I draw the line". And to have a cultural identity crisis. *g* More seriously, what that book does with the psychological damage handed over from generation to generation but in different ways is amazing because it always feels fitting for the individual in question, and because of the different narrators, you never feel one of them is singled out as a villain or hero.)
I have to admit, there is a part of me that wants to go back in time and slap whoever it was that initially decided women couldn't be on the stage in England, because I cannot help but think of all the glorious female characters Shakespeare could have written, in addition to the ones he wrote, if he'd had access to more actors who could play those roles.
There was an anonymous John of Gaunt play in I want to say the 1590s that we have records of, but which sadly does not survive. I have to imagine Katherine at least makes an appearance, although one never knows with these things.
("oh, sure, first she's the governess, then she spends thirty years as his mistress, and then he marries her - and her brother-in-law is the most famous poet of the age to boot, and did I mention the flash forward where her descendants make it to the throne?")
FYI, the Gaunt/Katherine fic is part of the enormous Victorian/Edwardian/Interwar AU and is a Jane Eyre pastiche. Because there is no way NOT to do that if it's Gaunt/Katherine set in the Victorian period. ;)
You make me want to reread Wheel of Fortune again, by the way, and my copy is packed away...
More seriously, what that book does with the psychological damage handed over from generation to generation but in different ways is amazing because it always feels fitting for the individual in question, and because of the different narrators, you never feel one of them is singled out as a villain or hero
Oh, absolutely. Kester might be my favourite of the narrators (just because he's got such a distinctive style; Ginevra is a close second), but John is such a great fulcrum character and he's absolutely heartbreaking. I think Howatch may have been one of the authors who really sold me on narrative voice as something distinctive to a character, even if you're not writing in first-person. It's why I can't do omniscient POVs anymore.
(It's entirely Wheel of Fortune's fault that I keep expecting versions of John of Gaunt to say "and here I draw the line". And to have a cultural identity crisis. *g* More seriously, what that book does with the psychological damage handed over from generation to generation but in different ways is amazing because it always feels fitting for the individual in question, and because of the different narrators, you never feel one of them is singled out as a villain or hero.)
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There was an anonymous John of Gaunt play in I want to say the 1590s that we have records of, but which sadly does not survive. I have to imagine Katherine at least makes an appearance, although one never knows with these things.
("oh, sure, first she's the governess, then she spends thirty years as his mistress, and then he marries her - and her brother-in-law is the most famous poet of the age to boot, and did I mention the flash forward where her descendants make it to the throne?")
FYI, the Gaunt/Katherine fic is part of the enormous Victorian/Edwardian/Interwar AU and is a Jane Eyre pastiche. Because there is no way NOT to do that if it's Gaunt/Katherine set in the Victorian period. ;)
You make me want to reread Wheel of Fortune again, by the way, and my copy is packed away...
More seriously, what that book does with the psychological damage handed over from generation to generation but in different ways is amazing because it always feels fitting for the individual in question, and because of the different narrators, you never feel one of them is singled out as a villain or hero
Oh, absolutely. Kester might be my favourite of the narrators (just because he's got such a distinctive style; Ginevra is a close second), but John is such a great fulcrum character and he's absolutely heartbreaking. I think Howatch may have been one of the authors who really sold me on narrative voice as something distinctive to a character, even if you're not writing in first-person. It's why I can't do omniscient POVs anymore.
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