Penelope Mortimer

Penelope Ruth Mortimer, born Fletcher ( born September 19, 1918 in Rhyl, Wales, † October 19, 1999 in Kensington, London, England) was a British novelist, screenwriter, film critic and journalist.

Life

Penelope Ruth Mortimer was born as the daughter of an Anglican clergyman in Wales. Her father fell away from the faith and abused them during their childhood. During her childhood, she often changed schools. She later studied for a year at University College London. In 1937 she married at the age of 18 years, the journalist Charles Dimont, with whom she later got two daughters together, including the later actress Caroline Mortimer. The marriage lasted officially until 1949. During this time she had affairs with Kenneth Harrison and the poet Randall Swingler, from which also produced two more daughters. During the last pregnancy, she met the lawyer and writer John Mortimer, whom she married in 1949 and with whom she had three more children, a son and a daughter. Overall, Mortimer had six children by four men. The marriage with Mortimer was difficult. Both had extramarital affairs, so that they could be divorced again in 1971.

Under the name Penelope Mortimer Dimont debuted in 1947 with Johanna as a writer. Her second novel, which was published seven years later, finally appeared under the name Penelope Mortimer. These, and all subsequent novels were well received by both the audience and the critics. Their difficult relationship experiences with their husbands they processed later in novels such as Daddy 's Gone A- Hunting and The Pumpkin Eater. The latter appeared in 1965 under the title Can you love Jake? in German language and was filmed by Harold Pinter in 1964 under the title of bedrooms dispute.

In addition to her scripture clean Mortimer also worked as a journalist. So they wrote among other things for the The New Yorker and was under the pseudonym Ann Temple at the Daily Mail as a counselor working. Later, she replaced Penelope Gilliatt as film critics in the Observer. She also wrote for the British Sunday Times and published in 1986 with Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother a biography of Elizabeth Bowes -Lyon.

On 19 October 1999 Mortimer died at the age of 81 years from the consequences of their cancer.

Works

• Johanna (1947 )
• A Villa in Summer ( 1954)
• The Bright Prison (1956 )
• Daddy 's Gone A- Hunting (1958 )
• The Pumpkin Eater ( 1962) Can you love Jake? , Munich 1965

• The way you are, German publishing house 1969

• Saturday Lunch with the Browning (1977 )
• Humphrey 's Mother

• About Time: An Aspect of Autobiography (1979 )
• About Time Too: 1940-78 (1993 )

• Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother ( 1986)

• With Love and Lizards (1957 )