Most Popular Books by Antonia Fraser

Perilous Question features an eventful, violent often overlooked period of British history. On 7th June 1832, William IV reluctantly assented to pass the Great Reform Bill, under the double threat of the creation of 60 new peers in the House of Lords and of revolution throughout the country. This led to a total change in the way Britain was governed, a riotous two-year revolution that Antonia Fraser brings dramatically to life. Perilous Question is an exceptional work of narrative history, one that truly casts a distant mirror on events today.

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.

In the eighteenth century, the Catholics of England lacked many basic freedoms under the law: they could not serve in political office, buy or inherit land, or be married by the rites of their own religion. So virulent was the sentiment against Catholics that, in 1780, violent riots erupted in London—incited by the anti-Papist Lord George Gordon—in response to the Act for Relief that had been passed to loosen some of these restrictions. The Gordon Riots marked a crucial turning point in the fight for Catholic emancipation. Over the next fifty years, factions battled to reform the laws of the land. Kings George III and George IV refused to address the “Catholic Question,” even when pressed by their prime ministers. But in 1829, through the dogged work of charismatic Irish lawyer Daniel O’Connell and the support of the great Duke of Wellington, the watershed Roman Catholic Relief Act finally passed, opening the door to the radical transformation of the Victorian age. Gripping, spirited, and incisive, The King and the Catholics is character-driven narrative history at its best, reflecting the dire consequences of state-sanctioned oppression—and showing how sustained political action can triumph over injustice.

The letters in this anthology are grouped according to the emotions they convey: passions, ecstasies and total love, fears, worries, and jealousies. The lovers or would-be loved range from the famous and expected, Heloise and Abelard, Jane Carlyle, Vanessa to Swift, Byron, Zelda Fitzgerald, Napoleon, Henry VIII, Goethe, Keats, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mozart to lesser known but equally poignant correspondents.

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November ... With 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. ''An excellent book which unravels the whole story of the plot'' Literary Review ''Told with impressive scholarship and panache ... with a sense of pace and tension worthy of a John le Carré novel'' Sunday Telegraph

400 years ago this November the most ambitious and extraordinary plot ever conceived in this country came close to success: the attempt by Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators to destroy in a single, annihilating blast the entire British ruling class and royal family. This book draws on the expertise of different writers to bring to life the immense implications of the Plot and the strange way they have echoed down to us over four centuries in what remains the quintessential English festival. Pauline Croft writes about the amazing plot itself and the anxious, unstable world of Jacobean Britain, Antonia Fraser imagines a world in which the plot had succeeded, Justin Champion dramatizes the national emergency that followed the plot''s discovery and its savage anti-Catholicism, David Cressy traces how Bonfire Night has been celebrated since its inception as a holiday, Mike Jay focuses on the most famous and enduring rituals held each year at Lewes and Brenda Buchanan offers a wonderful history of fireworks in Britain.

An atmospheric and gripping mystery from Lady Antonia Fraser''s Jemima Shore series. How well do we ever know our friends? When Jemima Shore offers to flat-sit for her friend Chloe, the last thing she is expecting is threatening anonymous phone calls on her very first night. A vicious assault by Chloe''s ex-lover the next morning forces Jemima to accept that she knows very little about her friend''s life. Fuming, she decides to confront her. But then she realises that Chloe never reached her destination ... and Jemima is not the only person trying to get in touch with her. It seems she was playing a dangerous game - and Jemima has been left with the aftermath. The only trouble is, Chloe was playing with some of the most influential people in London - people who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.

When King James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England in 1603 he had ruled his native land almost as long as had Queen Elizabeth. He showed both vision and determination in pursuing his major political goals: a united Britain, and a foreign policy based on peace rather than bellicose chauvinism. Of course, there was a darker side: in the face of growing Parliamentary opposition, he would need all his celebrated wisdom to prevent open conflict. This book is a sympathetic portrait of a worthy first king of Great Britain.

A collection of mysteries for Jemima Shore in such places as a Caribbean graveyard, a Corfu tourist resort, a leafy London square, and an English university high table.

Nine ebooks from the bestselling historian Antonia Fraser, shedding light on some of the most fascinating and controversial people and events of European history. MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS Mary, Queen of Scots passed her childhood in France and married the dauphin to become queen of France at the age of sixteen. Widowed less than two years later, she returned to Scotland as queen after an absence of thirteen years. CROMWELL No 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. KING CHARLES II Spanning 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. THE WEAKER VESSEL An 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. THE WARRIOR QUEENS Warrior Queens are those women who have both ruled and led in war. It examines how Antonia Fraser''s heroines have held and wrestled the reins of power from their (consistently male) adversaries. THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII The six wives of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr. They may have been victims of Henry''s obsession with a male heir, but they were not willing victims. THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 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. MARIE ANTOINETTE 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, her trial and her eventual execution by guillotine in 1793. LOVE AND LOUIS XIV Antonia Fraser brilliantly explores the relationships which existed between the Sun King and the women in his life.

In the sixteenth century, six women linked to the cruel King Henry VIII--Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Catherine Parr, Jane Seymour, Anna of Clevesc, and Catherine Howard--play a crucial role during the reign of the controversial monarch.

The story of King Charles II is one of enduring fascination. In this meticulously researched biography Antonia Fraser offers important judgements and reassessments on central questions of the reign, such as his patriotism and religious beliefs.

''Love and Louis XIV'' centres around the Sun King and his relationships with numerous women. Divided into five parts, this work brings to life the vast edifice of Louis XIV''s court - the magnificence, artistic splendour, elaborate ritual and in some cases, absurdity and misery.

What were the women of the Civil War era like? What could they expect beyond marriage and childbirth in an age where infant and maternal mortality was frequent and contraception unknown? Antonia Fraser brings to life the many women she has researched.

The acclaimed biographer details the life, reign, and impact of King Charles II of England, revealing him to have been far more serious, sensible, and competent than has been thought

A seventh Jemima Shore mystery story, which finds her researching a television project, Ghosts and Ourselves, and subsequently investigating a murder.

The first collection of short mystery stories by the creator of Jemima Shore, investigator.

“Fraser mistura sexo, sentimento e intriga na corte. Em dose certa. Consegue fazer um livro de história com um texto inteligível e irresistível.” Sunday Times “ Divorciada, decapitada, morta, divorciada, decapitada, sobrevivente.” Assim foram as seis mulheres de Henrique VIII – Catarina de Aragão, Ana Bolena, Jane Seymour, Ana de Cleves, Catarina Howard e Catarina Parr – passaram a ser popurlamente conhecidas. Não tanto pelas vidas que tiveram, mas pela maneira pela qual essas vidas acabaram. Da mesma forma, ficaram estereotipadas como a Esposa Traída, a Tentadora, a Boa Mulher, a Irmã Feia, a Moça Má e a Figura de Mãe. A historiadora e autora do livro prova de forma brilhante e conclusiva que as mulheres de Henrique tinham personalidades fortes e sensíveis. Vítimas da obsessão do rei por um herdeiro homem, mas não vítimas passivas, demostraram força e inteligência. A autora abre novas perspectivas de compreensão da vida social de um interessante período da história britânica, de 1509 a 1547

A diverse collection of stories of drama and suspense from writers such as Antonia Fraser, Ruth Rendell and Sharyn McCrumb. From cops to private eyes to ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations, these stories feature heroines who face danger and solve crimes with panache.

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