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ALISON WEIR has accomplished a seemingly impossible task. In tackling the story of Katherine Swynford, mistress and later wife to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III, she has written a readable and interesting biography about a woman who left behind not a single image and not a single written word, and whose story is based almost entirely on what others thought of her, household financial records and royal court documents.

Even Katherine's own brother-in-law, Geoffrey Chaucer, memorialized John of Gaunt's first wife, Blanche, in "The Boke of the Duchesse" but penned not a word about Katherine.

Weir's meticulous and scholarly research has unearthed details that help bring Katherine to life. The reader learns about her lineage, early life in the household of Queen Philippa, John's mother; her marriage to Hugh Swynford and their children; her duties as governess to John of Gaunt's children; how money in her household was spent. Weir deduces that Katherine was good with babies and young children because of her roles of governess and nanny to royal children, and that she was pious because of her support of the church. Despite Weir's intensive historical digging, Katherine remains a distant, aloof character, perhaps due to the dearth of first-hand information from and about her. It makes the reader long to know what Katherine herself thought about her life and her love for John.

Interwoven in John and Katherine's story is a wealth of information about John's powerful role in England, his struggles with the church, the ever-present machinations between England and the countries of Europe, war and English politics.

Katherine is important on two levels. First, she is significant because of her unprecedented move from royal mistress to legally wedded wife. In 14th-century England, many powerful men kept mistresses, but virtually no one, particularly not a son of the king, would consider marrying one. John married Katherine in 1396, after the death of his second wife, and legitimized his and Katherine's children.

Second, every English monarch since 1461 and at least five American presidents are descended from her.

"Mistress of the Monarchy" is not the embellished, fictionalized version of John and Katherine that mid-20th-century readers encountered in Anya Seton's "Katherine." It is a serious, well-researched book that is a blend of love story and history.

Peggy Carlson is on the newsroom staff of The Free Lance-Star.