{"title":"Books by Lady Antonia Fraser","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780753813058","title":"Marie Antoinette","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here ... Fascinating' \u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Beautifully paced, impeccably written ... Don't miss it' \u003ci\u003eINDEPENDENT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Fraser is at her best here, lucid, authoritative and compassionate' \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Superbly researched ... the definitive work on the ill-fated queen' \u003ci\u003eCATHOLIC HERALD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse fascination and controversy\u003c\/b\u003e. To many people, she is still 'la reine méchante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this gripping biography, Antonia Fraser examines her influence over the king, Louis XVI, the accusations and sexual slurs made against her, her patronage of the arts which enhanced French cultural life, her imprisonment, the death threats made against her, rumours of lesbian affairs, her trial (during which her young son was forced to testify to sexual abuse by his mother) and her eventual execution by guillotine in 1793.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is the only book you need to read on Marie Antoinette, one of the most iconic and divisive characters in history. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204045373618,"sku":"9780753813058","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753813058_a07a45b4-f07e-4d50-b231-d1d312747ea5.jpg?v=1786016469"},{"product_id":"9780753813317","title":"Cromwell, Our Chief Of Men","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe bestselling historian's biography of a decisive figure in England's history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo Englishman has made more impact on the history of his nation than Oliver Cromwell; few have been so persistently maligned in the folklore of history. The central purpose of Antonia Fraser's book is the recreation of his life and character, freed from the distortions of myth and Royalist propaganda.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCromwell was a man of contradictions and surprising charm. This decisive and ruthless commander was also a country gentleman and a passionate connoisseur of music. Of Cromwell's fitness for high office, this fascinating biography leaves no doubt. Under his rule English prestige abroad rose to a level unequalled since Elizabeth I, yet his campaign in Ireland has cast a shadow over his reputation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAntonia Fraser displays great insight into this complex man and reveals a totally unexpected Cromwell, far removed from the received stereotype.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204045406386,"sku":"9780753813317","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753813317_8d2cb93b-f0f0-4c7c-8b1d-26650eb2ab2a.jpg?v=1786016470"},{"product_id":"9780753814031","title":"King Charles II","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing a youth of poverty and bitter exile after his father's execution, the ousted king first challenged, then made his magnificent escape from, Cromwell's troops before he was eventually restored to his throne in triumph in 1660.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpanning his life both before and after the Restoration, Antonia Fraser's lively and fascinating biography captures all the vitality of the man and the expansiveness of the age.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204102914226,"sku":"9780753814031","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753814031_c4438df1-d265-4cb2-8085-6f61beb91b8e.jpg?v=1786016481"},{"product_id":"9781474610933","title":"The Case of the Married Woman","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Before biography was fashionable, Antonia Fraser made the past popular' \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'As a pure storyteller, Antonia Fraser has few equals' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCAROLINE NORTON,\u003ci\u003e a nineteenth-century heroine who wanted justice for women.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePoet, pamphleteer and artist's muse, Caroline Norton dazzled nineteenth-century  society with  her vivacity and intelligence. After her marriage in 1828 to the MP George Norton, she continued to attract friends and admirers to her salon in Westminster, which included the young Disraeli.  Most prominent among her admirers was the widowed Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne.  Racked with jealousy, George Norton took the Prime Minister to court, suing him for damages on account of his 'Criminal Conversation' (adultery) with Caroline.  A dramatic trial followed. Despite the  unexpected and sensational result - acquittal -  Norton legally denied Caroline access to her three children under seven. He also claimed her income as an author for himself, since the copyrights of a married woman belonged to her husband.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet Caroline refused to despair. Beset by the personal cruelties perpetrated by her husband and a society whose rules were set against her, she chose to fight, not surrender. She channelled her energies in an area of much-needed reform: the rights of a married woman and specifically those of a mother. Over the next few years she campaigned tirelessly, achieving her first landmark victory with the Infant Custody Act of 1839.  Provisions which are now taken for granted, such as the right of a mother to have access to her own children, owe much to Caroline, who was determined to secure justice for women at all levels of society from the privileged to the dispossessed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAward-winning historian Antonia Fraser brilliantly portrays a woman, at once courageous and compassionate,  who refused to be curbed by the personal and political constraints of her time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204504453298,"sku":"9781474610933","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474610933_c6a734bf-77ae-4739-82be-10cfbea0bbde.jpg?v=1786020758"},{"product_id":"9780753814017","title":"The Gunpowder Plot","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRemember, remember, the Fifth of November ... \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a narrative that grips the reader like a detective story, Antonia Fraser brings the characters and events of the Gunpowder Plot to life. Dramatically recreating the conditions and motives that surrounded the fateful night of 5 November 1605, she unravels the tangled web of religion and politics that spawned the plot.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003en excellent book which unravels the whole story of the plot' \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Told with impressive scholarship and panache ... \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ewith a sense of pace and tension worthy of a John le Carré novel' \u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294664733045,"sku":"9780753814017","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753814017_9fd9e739-f40f-4f19-918d-9c560b715c17.jpg?v=1786016480"},{"product_id":"9780753829226","title":"Perilous Question","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe two-year revolution that totally changed how Britain is governed.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInternationally bestselling historian Antonia Fraser's new book brilliantly evokes one year of pre-Victorian political and social history - the passing of the Great Reform Bill of 1832, an eventful and violent year that featured riots in Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe time-span of the book is from Wellington's intractable declaration in November 1830 that 'The beginning of reform is beginning of revolution' to 7 June 1832, when William IV reluctantly assented to the Great Reform Bill, under the double threat of the creation of 60 new peers in the House of Lords and the threat of revolution throughout the country. Wider themes of Irish and 'negro emancipation' underscore the narrative.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book is character driven; we learn of the Whig aristocrats prepared to whittle away their own power to bring liberty to the country, the all-too-conservative opposition who included the intransigent Duchess of Kent and Queen Adelaide and finally the 'revolutionaries' like William Cobbett, author of \u003ci\u003eRural Rides\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese events led to a total change in the way Britain was governed, a two-year revolution that Antonia Fraser brings to vivid dramatic life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294716440949,"sku":"9780753829226","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753829226_0d48b9ef-0135-4431-86be-83881177d6eb.jpg?v=1786015887"},{"product_id":"9780753828786","title":"Must You Go?","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA unique testimony to modern literature's most celebrated and enduring marriage.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I first saw Harold across a crowded room, but it was lunchtime, not some enchanted evening, and we did not speak.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Antonia Fraser met Harold Pinter she was a celebrated biographer and he was Britain's finest playwright. Both were already married - Pinter to the actress Vivien Merchant and Fraser to the politician Hugh Fraser - but their union seemed inevitable from the moment they met: 'I would have found you somehow', Pinter told Fraser. Their relationship flourished until Pinter's death on Christmas Eve 2008 and was a source of delight and inspiration to them both until the very end. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFraser uses her Diaries and her own recollections to tell a touching love story.  But this is also a memoir of a partnership between two of the greatest literary talents, with fascinating glimpses into their creativity and their illustrious circle of friends from the literary, political and theatrical world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294727745909,"sku":"9780753828786","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753828786_ae1934b2-dd62-463a-a217-2338238f1011.jpg?v=1786015870"},{"product_id":"9781474601948","title":"The King and the Catholics","description":"The story of Catholic Emancipation begins with the violent Anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in 1780, fuelled by the reduction in Penal Laws against the Roman Catholics harking back to the sixteenth century. Some fifty years later, the passing of the Emancipation Bill was hailed as a 'bloodless revolution'. Had the Irish Catholics been a 'millstone', as described by an English aristocrat, or were they the prime movers? While the English Catholic aristocracy and the Irish peasants and merchants approached the Catholic Question in very different ways, they manifestly shared the same objective. Antonia Fraser brings colour and humour to the vivid drama with its huge cast of characters: George III, who opposed Emancipation on the basis of the Coronation Oath; his son, the indulgent Prince of Wales, who was enamoured with the Catholic Maria Fitzherbert before the voluptuous Lady Conyngham; Wellington and the 'born Tory' Peel vying for leadership; 'roaring' Lord Winchilsea; the heroic Daniel O'Connell. Expertly written and deftly argued, THE KING AND THE CATHOLICS is also a distant mirror of our times, reflecting the political issues arising from religious intolerance.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301527040373,"sku":"9781474601948","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474601948_eb0620df-4ecc-44f3-b84d-4edf1fff75d6.jpg?v=1786020586"},{"product_id":"9781780228464","title":"Tartan Tragedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn atmospheric and gripping mystery set in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland from Lady Antonia Fraser's Jemima Shore series.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'I warned you, Jemima Shore, things up here are seldom all they seem . . .'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe body of a young man has been found floating in a pool on a remote island in the Scottish Highlands. It just happens to be the island that TV reporter Jemima Shore has rented for a holiday - a holiday that is rapidly falling apart. Confronted with a foreboding stone house, a bitter family feud and cryptic warnings from locals Jemima begins to regret her choice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is only when another body is found tangled in weeds in the river she begins to realize she has become caught up in something very dark indeed. As she tries to fight her attraction to a suspect, Jemima struggles to work out just who she can trust. In this lonely spot it seems that nobody is quite as they first appear...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304363078005,"sku":"9781780228464","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781780228464_4285d401-1a6e-4e45-a359-67812c65dbd8.jpg?v=1786024307"},{"product_id":"9781842126363","title":"Warrior Queens","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn inspired evaluation of women leaders in war by a bestselling historian.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAntonia Fraser's Warrior Queens are those women who have both ruled and led in war. They include Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I, Isabella of Spain, the Rani of Jhansi, and the formidable Queen Jinga of Angola. With Boadicea as the definitive example, her female champions from other ages and civilisations make a fascinating and awesome assembly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet if Boadicea's apocryphal chariot has ensured her place in history, what are the myths that surround the others? And how different are the democratically elected if less regal warrior queens of our time: Indira Ghandi and Golda Meir? This remarkable book is much more than a biographical selection. It examines how Antonia Fraser's heroines have held and wrested the reins of power from their (consistently male) adversaries.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308065993077,"sku":"9781842126363","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781842126363_cdc182d5-036f-4839-9747-00cbd0e03729.jpg?v=1786028391"},{"product_id":"9781842126356","title":"The Weaker Vessel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAntonia Fraser's bestselling account of the lives of women in seventeenth-century England.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJust how weak were the women of the Civil War era? What could they expect beyond marriage and childbirth in an age where infant and maternal mortality was frequent and contraception unknown? Did anyone marry for love? Could a woman divorce? What rights had the unmarried? What expectations the widows? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn expert on the period, Antonia Fraser brings to life the many and various women she has encountered in her considerable research: governesses, milkmaids, fishwives, nuns, defenders of castles, courtesans, countesses, witches and widows.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308100432245,"sku":"9781842126356","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781842126356_16538ea5-14ea-4181-b231-5b2d52c74365.jpg?v=1786028390"},{"product_id":"9781842126332","title":"The Six Wives Of Henry VIII","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAntonia Fraser's bestselling biography of Henry VIII's six wives; a subject of enduring fascination.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe six wives of Henry VIII - Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr - have become defined in a popular sense not so much by their lives as by the way these lives ended.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut, as Antonia Fraser conclusively proves, they were rich and feisty characters. They may have been victims of Henry's obsession with a male heir, but they were not willing victims. On the contrary, they displayed considerable strength and intelligence at a time when their sex supposedly possessed little of either.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308100465013,"sku":"9781842126332","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781842126332_83bbacda-4dda-4b4e-afcb-d43c07891b3b.jpg?v=1786028389"},{"product_id":"9780753822937","title":"Love and Louis XIV","description":"Mistresses and wives, mothers and daughters - Antonia Fraser brilliantly explores the relationships which existed between The Sun King and the women in his life. 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One of the greatest international bestsellers of the post-war period' Andrew Roberts, \u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eReads like an engrossing novel' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn infant queen. A teenage widow. Beautiful, flamboyant Mary Queen of Scots had a formidable intellect but her political sense - formed at the absolute court of France - plunged her country into a maelstrom of intrigue, marriage and murder. Upon fleeing to England she was held captive by her cousin Elizabeth I. In this classic biography, reissued for the fiftieth anniversary of its publication, acclaimed historian Antonia Fraser relates the enthralling story of Mary's life and untimely end.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312459952501,"sku":"9781474610919","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474610919_46403e05-2b6f-43f3-849a-94c0d00e40ad.jpg?v=1786020757"},{"product_id":"9781474624848","title":"Lady Caroline Lamb","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the outset, Caroline Lamb had a rebellious nature. From childhood she grew increasingly troublesome, experimenting with sedatives like laudanum, and she had a special governess to control her. She also had a merciless wit and talent for mimicry. She spoke French and German fluently, knew Greek and Latin, and sketched impressive portraits. As the niece of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, she was already well connected, and her courtly skills resulted in her marriage to the Hon. William Lamb (later Lord Melbourne) at the age on nineteen. For a few years they enjoyed a happy marriage, despite Lamb's siblings and mother-in-law detesting her and referring to her as 'the little beast'.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1812 Caroline embarked on a well-publicised affair with the poet Lord Byron - he was 24, she 26. Her phrase 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' became his lasting epitaph. When he broke things off, Caroline made increasingly public attempts to reunite. 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A fascination that began with reading \u003ci\u003eOur Island Story\u003c\/i\u003e and her evacuation to an Elizabethan manor house at the beginning of the Second World War soon developed into an enduring passion, becoming, in her own words, 'an essential part of the enjoyment of life'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy History\u003c\/i\u003e follows Antonia's relationship with her family: she was the eldest of eight children. Her parents Frank and Elizabeth Pakenham, later Lord and Lady Longford, were both Labour politicians. Then there are her adventures as a self-made debutante before Oxford University and a fortunate coincidence that leads to her working in publishing. 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