On the Fourteenth Day of Christmas…

On the fourteenth day of Christmas On the Tudor Trail gave to me… the chance to win a copy of ‘Katherine Howard: A New History’ by Conor Byrne.

To be in the running to win ‘Katherine Howard: A New History’, leave a comment after this post.

Conditions of Entry

For your chance to win a copy of this book, you must be subscribed to On the Tudor Trail’s newsletter (if you are not already, sign up on our homepage where it says ‘Free Enewsletter Subscription’).

Then simply leave a comment after this post between now and 26 December 2014. Don’t forget to leave your name and a contact email. Please note that I have comment moderation activated and need to ‘approve’ comments before they appear. There is no need to submit your comment twice.

This giveaway is open internationally.

One winner will be randomly selected and contacted by email shortly after the competition closes. Please ensure you’ve added natalie@onthetudortrail.com to your address book to avoid missing my email.

Good luck!

Find Out More

Book Description

In this new full-length biography of Katherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Conor Byrne reconsiders Katherine’s brief reign and the circumstances of her life, striping away the complex layers of myths and misconceptions to reveal a credible portrait of this tragic queen. By reinterpreting her life in the context of cultural customs and expectations surrounding sexuality, fertility and family honour, Byrne exposes the limitations of conceptualising Katherine as either ‘whore’ or ‘victim’. His more rounded view of the circumstances in which she found herself and the expectations of her society allows the historical Katherine to emerge. Katherine has long been condemned by historians for being a promiscuous and frivolous consort who partied away her days and revelled in male attention, but Byrne’s reassessment conveys the mature and thoughtful ways in which Katherine approached her queenship. It was a tragedy that her life was controlled by predators seeking to advance themselves at her expense, whatever the cost.

About the Author

Conor Byrne, author of Katherine Howard: A New History is a British undergraduate studying History at the University of Exeter.

Conor has been fascinated by the Tudors, medieval and early modern history from the age of eleven, particularly the lives of European kings and queens. His research into Katherine Howard, fifth consort of Henry VIII of England, began in 2011-12, and his first extended essay on her, related to the subject of her downfall in 1541-2, was written for an Oxford University competition. Since then Conor has embarked on a full-length study of queen Katharine’s career, encompassing original research and drawing on extended reading into sixteenth-century gender, sexuality and honour. Some of the conclusions reached are controversial and likely to spark considerable debate, but Conor hopes for a thorough reassessment of Katherine Howard’s life.

Conor runs a historical blog which explores a diverse range of historical topics and issues. He is also interested in modern European, Russian, and African history, and, more broadly, researches the lives of medieval queens, including current research into the defamed ‘she-wolf’ bride of Edward II, Isabella of France.

Read the following guest articles by Conor Byrne:

Power and Control: Katherine Howard’s Relationships

Katherine Howard’s Birthday

The Queen’s Lovers: The men implicated in the downfalls of Queens Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard

Visit Conor Byrne’s website here.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for your chance to win a wonderful prize pack donated by novelist Sandra Byrd.

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Comments

  1. Jennifer C. says:

    Sounds like an interesting book! I love to hear all perspectives about the Tudors! 🙂

  2. Hilary Bridewell says:

    Yes please I would love this to read over Christmas and the New Year.

  3. Beautiful cover. Would love to read this book.

  4. Orsolya Dunai says:

    Catherine. The whore or the innocent. Curious how she is portrayed here…

  5. Sarah Longfield says:

    I’ve only read a couple of books about Catherine so i’m really interested to see what new information Conor can bring.

  6. katie skeoch says:

    Another great giveaway, thank you xx

  7. Lisa Evans says:

    Wow! This would be very interesting read.

  8. kirstie vaughan says:

    Sounds a really interesting book. Would love to it x

  9. Michelle Bollig says:

    This sounds like a great read!

  10. Veronica Napoli says:

    Such a fashinating story…

  11. Would love to win this book. Thank you for the chance 🙂

  12. She is a fascinating part of Henry VIII’s life. I would love to read another author’s take on her.

  13. oh, I would love to read more about her…always felt sorry for her…

  14. Catherine Howard is an interesting person. Can’t wait to read this new work.

  15. Paula bearss says:

    thank you for providing the opportunity to win these wonderful giveaways

  16. I would love to read this book, as I don’t really know much about Katherine Howard.

  17. Katherine Howard is one of my favorites!

  18. This looks like another good read! 🙂

  19. Glad to have an opportunity to win this.Looking forward to reading it,

  20. Marie Ford-McCartney says:

    Poor girl the Tudor court did her in. Hope to win!

  21. Debbie Warila says:

    I would love to read this book on Katherine Howard. She intrigues me for some reason.

  22. Bonnie Malmat says:

    I’d love a copy of this book.

  23. Victoria Froeba says:

    I’d love this!

  24. Alessandra McDonald says:

    I know little about Katherine Howard and I’d love to know more!

  25. Anne Crabb says:

    Sounds fascinating!

  26. Michelle Dunnett says:

    Such great stuff. Such a great contest

  27. Thought I had already left a comment but perhaps it didn’t get through. I would be very interested in reading this book.

  28. Oh I want to read this SO BAD!! Finger’s crossed!

  29. I have heard great things about this book, and would love to win it 🙂

  30. Great giveaway! Would love to read this.

  31. Michele Scheenstra says:

    Would love to read this!
    Michele – ms12@charter.net

  32. I am very interested in following this writer’s career. I read his guest posts on the Anne Boleyn Files website, concerning this book. What a great opportunity to follow this historian and learn a fresh perspective on Catherine Howard!

  33. Thanks so much for the giveaway! raquel36m(at)gmail(dot)com

  34. Sydney Klevesath Cabrera says:

    Please??!

  35. Ashlee Payne says:

    I would love to win this biography about Katherine Howard! Im fascinated by her life!

  36. Would love to read this!

  37. Jennifer D. says:

    Interested to learn a new side about Katherine Howard’s story.

  38. Marilyn Holley says:

    Love to add this to my collection.

  39. Kristen Jones says:

    Would love to read this one too! 🙂

  40. Please me!!!

  41. I’d love to have this book; I don’t know very much about Katherine Howard.

  42. Tracey Lee says:

    She had such a tragic life. This will be a great read. Thanks for the chance!

  43. Suzanne Robertson says:

    This would be a great book to read,I always was sorry for Kathrine Howard. How she was used by people’s political use than left alone to suffer her fate. Whatever you think of her one fact is clear she faced her fate with bravery .

  44. Tammy Lewis says:

    Would be a very fascinating story, thanks for the great prizes.

  45. Tamise Hills says:

    Would love to win this.

  46. I don’t know much about this queen, so I’d love it *-*

  47. Brandy Violette says:

    I would love to win this !

  48. I’ve heard good things about this book and it sounds interesting. Thanks for the giveaway!

  49. I’ve been wanting to read Conor’s book. I’ve read some of his blogs and really enjoy his writing. I think it’s time a good biography on Katherine Howard was written. I’m glad he is focusing on her truths instead of the many myths and lies. I truly believe he will do her justice.

  50. I think Katherine Howard’s story is a sad one – I’d love to read this!

    shermie40 at yahoo dot com