Antonia Fraser eBooks
Antonia Fraser is a British novelist and historian. Born in London in 1932, she is the daughter of the 7th Earl of Longford. Having married Sir Hugh Fraser, a Scottish MP, in 1956, she began an affair with playwright Harold Pinter in 1975. After her divorce from Fraser in 1977, and Pinter’s divorce from Vivien Merchant in 1980, the couple married.
Fraser began writing in the 1960s. Her first book was published in 1963, and was about dolls. It was followed in 1966 by a history of toys. However, her career as an author began in earnest in 1969, when her biography of Mary, Queen of Scots was published. The book was an immediate success and became a best seller.
Throughout her career, Fraser has written a number of biographies and histories. Her 1996 history, The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605 earned her the Crime Writer’s Association’s Macallan Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction, as well as the St. Louis Literary Award.
Aside from her nonfiction books, Fraser has also written a series of crime fiction novels. The Jemima Shore novels started with Quiet as a Nun, published in 1977. The series has included 1985’s Oxford Blood and was completed in 1995 with the publication of Political Death.
Among Fraser’s most recent works was her memoir, published in 2010. Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter was shortlisted for the Galaxy National Book Awards. Fraser has announced that she is currently working on a biographical history of Elizabeth I.
