Mother of her country.(Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster)(Book review)

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Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster, by Alison Weir (Ballantine, 416 pp., $28)

THE moist glow of overcome pilgrims is unmistakable. The residents of Lincoln, England, are used to seeing them trudge up the steep hill to Lincoln Cathedral to examine yellowed parchment records containing the name "Katherine Swynford," get tickets to Katherine Swynford Study Days, join the Katherine Swynford Society, and take part in special ceremonies each year on May 10, such as, in 2003, the planting of a memorial tree on the 600th anniversary of Katherine Swynford's death. Most of all, they want to gaze in awe at the tomb of Katherine Swynford herself. And often, as your reviewer did, they will murmur almost prayerfully, "Katherine ... Katherine."

All tourists visit the royal tombs in Westminster Abbey where the kings and queens are laid to rest, but why would anyone travel up to the English Midlands in search of a mere duchess? What causes these Elvis-like pilgrimages? The answer is found on the sign that Lincoln Cathedral has placed on Katherine Swynford's tomb: "This is the Katherine of Anya Seton's famous novel."

Back in the 1950s, Anya Seton's runaway bestsellers based on historical figures made her one of America's favorite authors of popular fiction. No mere bodice-ripper, she was known as much for her scrupulous research as for her sexy (for the times) love scenes. When Katherine came out in 1954, Seton's vast readership ate it up, mesmerized by its romantic sweep and titillating sensuality. Set in late medieval England, it's the story of the long love affair and eventual marriage of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III, and Katherine Roet, daughter of a Flemish herald.

Like all of us who first read Katherine in our teen years, the English historian Alison Weir, author of the present biography, was enchanted by it and says it still has the power to move her, but she confesses that she also found it frustrating because she always wanted to know more about the heroine, who is "famous, but paradoxically, little known."

Part of the paradox might be that, unlike most royal mistresses, Katherine Swynford was neither a pathological intriguer nor a shopaholic, and so history let her alone. Consequently, what little we know about her personal life can be quickly summed up.