Antonia Fraser
Antonia Fraser
Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, DBE, née Pakenham, is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter, and prior to his death was also known as Antonia Pinter...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth27 August 1932
british-author exceptions foreign matters others reading time waste
Why waste time instructing others when you could be reading the manuscripts yourself? The only exceptions are matters of foreign language.
biography british-author full good juan king major offer player spanish worthy
King Juan Carlos would be worthy of a full biography as a major player in his country's history. Alas, my Spanish is not good enough to offer myself!
numbers lucky seven
Ninety-seven is my lucky number.
queens first-love special
Mary Queen of Scots was my first love, and that is always something special.
kings making-love wells
King Charles II liked women's company and well as making love to them.
book childhood france
The concentration in my book on Marie Antoinette's childhood and on her family influences. It is surprising how some books actually start with her arrival in France!
people evil moral
I'm very interested in good and evil and the moral natures of people.
heiress glad
I'm glad I was never an heiress.
long people terrorism
As long as you persecute people, you will actually throw up terrorism.
writing bedtime prison
That is my major concern: writers who are in prison for writing.
long historical gaps
It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.
writing self-confidence maine
Her imperturbable self-confidence (Duchesse de Maine) caused Madame de Stael to write that the Duchesse believed in herself the same way she believed in God, without explanation or discussion.
justice almighty-god persons
Of course there's no such thing as a totally objective person, except Almighty God, if she exists.
firsts privilege never-forget
As the Dauphine stepped out of her carriage on to the ceremonial carpet that had been laid down, it was the Duc de Choiseul who was given the privilege of the first salute. Presented with the Duc by Prince Starhemberg, Marie Antoinette exclaimed: 'I shall never forget that you are responsible for my happiness!