Must You Go?

By: Antonia Fraser

Narrated by: Sandra Duncan, Gareth Armstrong

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

When Antonia Fraser met Harold Pinter she was a celebrated biographer and he was Britain's finest playwright. Both were already married - Pinter to the actress Vivien Merchant and Fraser to the politician Hugh Fraser - but their union seemed inevitable from the moment they met: 'I would have found you somehow', Pinter told Fraser. Their relationship flourished until Pinter's death on Christmas Eve 2008 and was a source of delight and inspiration to them both until the very end.

Fraser uses her Diaries and her own recollections to tell a touching love story. But this is also a memoir of a partnership between two of the greatest literary talents, with fascinating glimpses into their creativity and their illustrious circle of friends from the literary, political and theatrical world.

©2010 Antonia Fraser (P)2010 WF Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

“Deeply moving.” (The Times)

“The quiet brilliance of this book steals up on you...funny, clever and controlled.” (Guardian)

Good writing; bad narration

This is a book I'm likely to enjoy more on paper than in audio. As a longtime Pinter fan, I'm interested in Fraser's story of their love affair and marriage, and the fact that the book is taken largely from her diaries makes it seem especially immediate. This narrator, though, reads nearly every sentence in an affected upper class drawl. It's tedious and distracting at first and finally really irritating to hear the simplest sentences delivered in an arch and condescending tone. This may be the was Fraser speaks, though I doubt it, but it makes for bad narration. I couldn't finish listening to the book, but I might buy the paperback when it's available.

Very Moving Book

Would you listen to Must You Go? again? Why?

No Once is enough

Who was your favorite character and why?

the author. It is an autobiography

What about Sandra Duncan and Gareth Armstrong ’s performance did you like?

Both the same

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

`I liked the book but a single moment did not stand out

Any additional comments?

I promptly read her book Marie Antoinette, a Journey as I had read several of her previous books and liked them all

What a Romantic Ride

Such a pleasure to read about a romantic relationship where there was so much mutual support. Antonia and Harold were at the forefront of the big movements of the 20thand 21 century. Their love for oneanother is inspiring!

Worth your time.

Fascinating and a terrific performance. Compelled to read some of Harold Pinter ‘s works. Fan of Antonia Frazier.

Via a certain age and interest

I love this book and called an ex actor friend of mine and suggested she read it too. But we both worked in the theater and know a lot about the 70s in the 80s. I don’t think anybody without a good education would appreciate this book. So I wouldn’t recommend it to casual readers. But it’s a love story. And a beautiful love story

a major disappointment

I ordered this audiobook before it was released in expectation of a great "listen." What a disappointment. The book consists of diary entries over a series of years: snippets each about 2-3 sentences long, with no synthesis or reflection ... just a catalog of events very sparingly presented. The result is tedious and ultimately infuriating coming from a writer of this caliber. I stopped listening mid-way through part 1. The author seems entirely absorbed by the fame of many of the people she met through Pinter and never hesitates to drop names and quotations, as though just knowing she was present among these people and heard them utter bon mots would impress a reader/listener. After she met Pinter, she left her husband and 6 children without a thought as to the consequences of her actions on any of them, and her children appear rarely in the text, briefly described, usually only by their clothing. Is this indicative of normative childrearing behavior for Scottish aristocrats, or the another indicator of the author's total self absorption...hard to tell.