‘Mary, Queen of Scots paid for my heated pool,’ reveals author Your No 1 one financial priority?

THE daughter of cash-strapped Anglo-Irish aristocrat Lord Longford, Lady Antonia Fraser has had a colourful life. Her family converted to Catholicism when she was a child. And later she survived an IRA car bomb attack that killed a passing neighbour. She married celebrated playwright Harold Pinter and penned books that were adopted into famous movies that changed our view of historical women like Mary Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette of France. Now 88, her latest historical biography – The Case Of The Married Woman: Caroline Norton – concerns another neglected heroine who campaigned for 19th Century women’s rights.

What did your parents teach you about money?

They taught me two very different things. My father Frank Pakenham, the 7th Earl of Longford, was extremely extravagant and didn’t really have any money. He taught me that it didn’t much matter what you had in your pocket – you decided first what to spend.

My mother, who was a stay-at-home parent, was the exact opposite. She was extremely careful and taught me that I should keep money in my pocket and on no account spend it on anything pleasurable.

My father was the youngest son and only became earl when his elder brother died, which happened when I was 30. Until then, my father only had the money that he earned, and with eight children to support on an academic salary, money was tight.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes, during the 1950s and 1960s when I was married to my first husband,

Sir Hugh Fraser, father of my six children. He was an MP and in those days, which was pre-expenses, MPs got paid little. We had an overdraft and would get letters from the bank. But we were young and it was a happy struggle.

The money that unexpectedly came in from my first major book, which was about Mary, Queen of Scots, was important to us. But I can’t pretend money was my motive for writing it – I wanted to tell her story more than anything in the world.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

No. My books make money but they don’t make millions – and they take a long time to write. But I’m not in it for the money.

What was the best year of your financial life?

It was 1969, the year my book on Mary, Queen of Scots was published here and in America.

It sold so many copies that I was able to pay for the renovation of our holiday home, a lodge in the Scottish Highlands. I was able to do exciting things like install a heated swimming pool.

We spent all our holidays there and I

The most expensive thing you bought for fun?

I’d probably have to say that swimming pool. It was 50 years ago, so it’s difficult to remember how much it cost. But I remember it being expensive at the time. We used to swim in it on New Year’s Eve with snow all around us.

How did your finances change after you met Harold Pinter?

He was already a successful screenwriter and playwright. I wouldn’t say he was extremely wealthy but we led very comfortable lives.

What is your biggest money mistake?

I love betting on the Derby and the Grand National. But that’s where I’ve made my biggest money mistakes because I’m an extremely unlucky gambler. If you’re around me when you’re having a bet on the Derby, you want to bribe me not to bet on your horse. I always lose.

Do you save into a pension?

No, I get a state pension. My home is my pension and I’m still writing. I’ve got a lot to be happy about.

What is the little luxury you treat yourself to?

The occasional painting. I recently bought a lovely painting by Amy Shuckburgh. She also did a portrait of Harold which I gave to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.

If you were in charge of State finances what would you do?

I would set up a special, wheelchairfriendly, taxi service for the elderly – to make them more mobile.

Do you donate money to charity? Yes, I donate to Give a Book, a wonderful charity which provides books to disadvantaged people. It’s played an important role for many people during lockdown.

Not to have to think about money or worry about it. And I think I have mostly achieved that.