My History

Written by Antonia Fraser

Narrated by Penelope Wilton

Antonia Fraser's memoir describes growing up in the 1930s and 1940s but its real concern is with her growing love of history. The fascination began as a child when her evacuation at the beginning of the war to an Elizabethan manor house became an inspiration for historical imaginings - and developed into an enduring passion; as she writes, 'for me, the study of History has always been an essential part of the enjoyment of life'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Jan 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781471284922

Antonia Fraser

Antonia Fraser is the author of many widely acclaimed historical works which have been international bestsellers. She was awarded the Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000 and was made a DBE in 2011 for services to literature. Her previous books include Mary Queen of Scots; King Charles II; The Weaker Vessel: Woman's Lot in Seventeenth-Century England, which won the Wolfson History Prize; Marie Antoinette: The Journey; Perilous Question; The King and the Catholics; and The Wives of Henry VIII.  Must You Go?, a memoir of her life with Harold Pinter, was published in 2010, and My History: A Memoir of Growing Up  in 2015. Fraser's The Case of the Married Woman is available from Pegasus Books. She lives in London. 

Reviews for My History

[eyejaybee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Antonia Fraser is well known as a writer of detailed yet accessible historical studies, and in particular for her biographies of Mary, Queen of Scots and Oliver Cromwell. Here she turns to recounting her own story, chronicling her early years, painting a charming picture of her childhood, life as a student in Oxford and the early years of her writing career.It is a life resonant with enigma. Her father was the unorthodox and frequently outspoken aristocrat and sometime Labour Minister, Lord Longford., and her mother also had celebrated family connections, being the great niece of the nineteenth century Radical, turned imperialist, Joseph Chamberlain, and cousin of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Despite her aristocratic background her family was resolutely socialist, with both her parents fighting several elections as Labour candidate. Antonia inherited her parents' deep interest in politics, and eventually married an MP, Sir Hugh Fraser, though surprisingly, given her socialist pedigree, he was a Conservative. In 1961, her father inherited the title of Earl of Longford following the death of his elder brother. At that point Antonia, as the daughter of an earl, became known as 'Lady Antonia Fraser'.She gives an enchanting picture of life in Oxford between the World Wars, and her performance at school, but most enthralling for me was her depiction of the brief period during which she lived with her aunt, Lady Violet Powell and her husband, author Anthony Powell. He is perhaps my favourite author and I have read his massive roman fleuve 'A Dance to the Music of Time' more times than I can count. It is fascinating to see Lady Antonia's identification of the originals of some of the characters in the novel sequence. After all, her father has often been seen as the prototype for Erridge, the troubled aristocratic socialist campaigner.Lady Antonia writes with great clarity, and a fair amount of self-deprecation, and brings the same charm and ability to grip the reader's attention that is characteristic of her historical works.

[maizie2004 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Slightly tedious emphasis on her conversion to Roman Catholicism. Writing felt a bit pedestrian. Disappointing as she writes very good history books.