Born in London in 1923, John Mortimer was the son of a lawyer who, despite going blind, continued to wear the gown for years.
He studied law at Oxford and became one of the greatest advocates of freedom of expression, whose clients included porn actress Linda Lovelace and punk group The Sex Pistols. In 1975, the creation of Horace Rumpole's charismatic character, based on the figure of his father, established him as one of the most corrosive writers of his time. He brought Evelyn Waugh's Return to Brideshead to the small screen. A fan of the good life, "a champagne socialist," he married the first and brief nuptials to the novelist Penelope Mortimer, who made their stormy marriage the subject of the magnificent Pumpkin Eater. Father of eight children, tireless enemy of Margaret Thatcher, he is the author of the famous Rapstone Chronicles, formed by An Unreachable Paradise (1985), The Return of Titmuss (1990), both published by Asteroid Books and The Sound of Trumpets (1998) . John Mortimer received the title of sir in 1997 at the behest of the Blair Government, a politician whom he fervently supported and came to hate. He died in 2009 at his home in The Chilterns, after a long illness.