HAROLD GAVE ME ‘PINTER’ BUT THE NAME THAT TRULY MATTERS IS MY OWN By Antonia Fraser

I HAVE had four names, all precious to me. But only one name has stuck by me for 90 years through thick and thin. That is my first name, Antonia.

I was named after a novel by Willa Cather, My Antonia, which my mother was reading at the time. The name Antonia was extremely unusual in England in the 1930s.

But I loved the name when I was young — apart from a few blips, like when the manager of Fenwick’s hat department, where I worked aged 17, said that Antonia was a ridiculous name. ‘you shall be Miss Tony,’ he declared.

Actually, a woman of my generation was extremely lucky to have an unusual name, because it was totally assumed she would change her surname when she married. Which duly happened in September 1956 when I married Hugh Fraser at the age of 24.

Not that I didn’t have trouble with my maiden name of Pakenham. ‘ Packenham, like pack a case’ I used to say wearily.

Being called Antonia Pakenham was quite a mouthful. Altogether it was thrilling to be called Fraser.

When I wrote my first work of history, Mary Queen of Scots, in 1969, it was as Antonia Fraser. It wasn’t a pen name: it was my name and I embarked on a happy reign of signing books as Antonia Fraser.

Then in 1975, my life was joined with Harold Pinter’s. For six years we lived together without being married. This led to one strange scene at Tel Aviv Airport in 1978.

Every detail of a passport and the bearer’s travel arrangements was examined. I still remember the moment when the (female) Israeli soldier went laboriously through our passports and then said slowly: ‘Pinter, Fraser, why are you travelling together?’ Harold, flinging his arms wide and engaging (it seemed) the attention of the whole airport, declared at the top of his fine sonorous voice: ‘We’re lovers.’ All this time, I retained my identity as Antonia Fraser more strongly than ever.

Finally, we were able to get married in 1980. I was so happy and so proud to change my name legally to Pinter. The name Antonia Pinter seemed to express perfectly our union, which we had waited so long to achieve. Harold had given me his name.

But it never occurred to me for one moment to change my writing name. Antonia Fraser had written Mary Queen of Scots and would go on writing — my 30th book is due out next year.

Nowadays, for legal purposes, passport and health forms, I am Antonia Fraser Pinter. After Harold died, I didn’t want to lose his precious name which he had given me. But in public, my writing name remains unchanged.

Except these days people have been known to stop me and say: ‘ Hey, didn’t you used to be Antonia Fraser?’

The answer is: ‘Hey, why don’t you buy one of my books and I’ll sign it.’