MY HISTORY: A MEMOIR OF GROWING UP

By Antonia Fraser

Synopsis

Antonia Fraser's memoir describes growing up in the 1930s and 1940s but its real concern is with her growing love of history. Told with inimitable humour and style, it is an unforgettable account of one person's journey towards becoming a writer - and a historian.

Sample Player

Narrator	Grace Dives
Length	11hrs
Catalogue No.	10436
Publisher	Weidenfeld and Nicolson; 2015

Other audiobooks by Antonia Fraser

THE CAVALIER CASE

It was a case that the newspapers couldn't let die, as it consisted of sex, sport, romance and supernatural, as well as historical romance. From investigating the handsome ghost of the 17th Century Cavalier Poe, Jemima Shore finds herself instead investigating murder.

CHARLES II: HIS LIFE AND TIMES

An abridged version of the author's biographical portrait of Charles II - popular with his people and in control of his country when he died.

COOL REPENTANCE

A series of murders have shocked the sleepy village of Lark. The deaths all coincide with the reappearance of actress Christabel Herriot - it is clear that someone has decided her return is not to be tolerated. Christabel decides to perform at the Larminster Festival, where Jemima Shore has been asked to present a programme. So when it becomes clear that Christabel's life is in serious danger, Jemima is on the case again.

THE GUNPOWDER PLOT

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 is one of the most commemorated events in English history. Yet this astonishing episode remains shrouded in mystery and the subject of passionate argument. The author untangles the intricate relationship between religion and politics in the early 17th century.

THE KING AND THE CATHOLICS

The story of Catholic Emancipation begins with the Anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in 1780. Fifty years later, the passing of the Emancipation Bill was hailed as a 'bloodless revolution'. Yet, had the Irish Catholics been a 'millstone' or were they the prime movers? Antonia Fraser brings colour and humour to this vivid drama, reflecting the political issues arising from religious intolerance.

LADY CAROLINE LAMB: A FREE SPIRIT

From 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'. In 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. Her obsession came to define much of her later life, as well as influencing her own writing - most notably the Gothic novel Glenarvon - and Byron's. Antonia Fraser's vividly compelling biography animates the life of 'a free spirit' who was far more than mad, bad and dangerous to know.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

The intrigue and turbulance of Mary Queen of Scots' reign.

MUST YOU GO?: MY LIFE WITH HAROLD PINTER

Celebrated playwright Harold Pinter and critically acclaimed biographer Antonia Fraser lived together from August 1975 until his death thirty-three years later on Christmas Eve 2008. This is a moving testimony of their life together, based partly on Antonia Fraser's own diaries and also her own recollections of their fascinating life together.

OXFORD BLOOD

Lord Saffron, one of the young bloods at Oxford University, is heir to a considerable fortune. But while making a documentary about the university, Jemima Shore discovers that this handsome young man, with his lavish dances and sumptuous weekend parties, is not quite what he seems. And when a student is murdered and a series of attempts are made on Saffron's life, Jemima realises that she has started a terrible chain of events...

PERILOUS QUESTION: THE DRAMA OF THE GREAT REFORM BILL 1832

On the 7th June 1832, King William IV reluctantly assented to pass the Great Reform Bill, under the threat of the creation of 60 new peers in the House of Lords. This led to a total change in the way Britain was governed and a two-year revolution that Antonia Fraser brings to vivid dramatic life.

POLITICAL DEATH

Jemima Shore is summoned by the wayward Lady Imogen Swain, who entrusts her with diaries of a passionate affair she had in 1964. Burgo Smyth was then a rising young Conservative politician, he is now the Foreign Secretary. This is the first in a sinister series of events which leads to murder.

QUIET AS A NUN

When a nun is found dead in a ruined tower at Blessed Eleanor's Convent, Jemima Shore, a renowned television reporter, is called in by Reverend Mother Ancilla to investigate. Blessed Eleanor was Jemima's own convent school, and the dead nun was heiress to a fortune ...

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII

A dramatic and enthralling story of rivalry and jealousy.

A SPLASH OF RED

Jemima Shore offers to flat-sit for her friend Chloe, and the last thing she is expecting is to receive threatening anonymous phone calls on her very first night. But when she discovers that Chloe never reached her destination, Jemima realises that her friend was playing with some of the most influential people in London - people who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden...

THE WILD ISLAND: A MYSTERY

The 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.

YOUR ROYAL HOSTAGE

As preparations for the royal wedding advance, a secret organisation is formulating plans that will have dangerous consequences. They need a gesture that will call attention to the rights and wrongs of those who have no voice of their own. And what better way than to target the royal bride? Meanwhile, Jemima Shore is grappling with the royal wedding in her own way - as a commentator. So she happens to be on hand when things go badly wrong...