Penelope Ruth Mortimer

Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University)

Ed. by Kerry Myler, Birmingham Newman University, Helen Rachel Cousins, Birmingham Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

Born 19 Sep 1918
Died 19 Oct 1999
Activity 1938-1999

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Autobiographer
Novelist

Resources

Mortimer's Works

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Penelope Mortimer (1918-1999) is the author of nine novels as well as two collections of short stories, a co-authored travel book, two screenplays, a biography of the Queen Mother, and two volumes of autobiography; she also worked as an agony aunt, journalist and was film critic for

The Observer

. She is best known for her 1962 novel

The Pumpkin Eater

which was later successfully adapted for film by Harold Pinter and directed by Jack Clayton; Pinter won the 1964 BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay and its star, Anna Bancroft, won Best Actress for her role at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival as well as receiving an Academy Award nomination.

The Pumpkin Eater

secured Mortimer’s reputation and, at the present time, is her only novel in print.

Born in North Wales, Mortimer was raised in

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4014 words

Citation: Myler, Kerry. "Penelope Ruth Mortimer". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 February 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3217, accessed 23 November 2024.]