The Gunpowder Plot

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.

Winner of CWA Non Fiction Dagger 1996 (UK)

“Antonia Fraser has written an excellent book which unravels the whole story of the plot , exploring the background, keeping close to the evidence, and, above all, bringing the characters to life ... a judicious and very readable account”

Antonia Fraser has written an excellent book which unravels the whole story of the plot, exploring the background, keeping close to the evidence, and, above all, bringing the characters to life ... a judicious and very readable account -- Hugh Trevor-Roper Literary Review
Told with impressive scholarship and panache. The result is a narrative that is clear, balanced, and builds to its denouement with a sense of pace and tension worthy of a John le Carré novel -- John Adamson Sunday Telegraph
Every few years a work of history appears that succeeds in connecting its subject to the deeper questions troubling modern society. This is one such book -- Amanda Foreman Independent
It has a fine narrative flow, for Antonia Fraser recognises that history is essentially a story, and a gripping one at that. She writes with verve and imagination -- Kenneth Baker Daily Telegraph
Fraser's meticulously researched book is an excellent read ... Antonia Fraser has shed much light on one of the most controversial episodes in English history -- Martin Jacques Observer
An awe-inspiring tale ... It makes superb armchair entertainment -- Paul Johnson Daily Express
Eloquent and moving -- Jonathan Clark The Times
History as it should be written -- Roy Strong

Antonia Fraser is the author of many widely acclaimed historical works which have been international bestsellers. She was awarded the Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000 and was made a DBE in 2011 for services to literature.Her previous books include MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, KING CHARLES II, THE WEAKER VESSEL: WOMAN'S LOT IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND which won the Wolfson History Prize, MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE JOURNEY, PERILOUS QUESTION; THE DRAMA OF THE GREAT REFORM BILL 1832 and THE KING AND THE CATHOLICS: THE FIGHT FOR RIGHTS 1829. MUST YOU GO?, a memoir of her life with Harold Pinter, was published in 2010, and MY HISTORY; A MEMOIR OF GROWING UP in 2015. She lives in London.Visit Antonia Fraser's website at

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.'Told with impressive scholarship and panache The result is a narrative that is clear, balanced, and builds to its denouement with a sense of pace and tension worthy of a John le Carre novel' John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph

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