Literary Birthday – 21 April – John Mortimer

John Mortimer was born on 21 April 1923 and died on 16 January 2009.

John Mortimer Quotes

1. There is always time for failure. (Clinging to the Wreckage)
2. What obsesses a writer starting out on a lifetime’s work is the panic-stricken search for a voice of his own. (A-Z Quotes)
3. I suppose that writers should, in a way, feel flattered by the censorship laws. They show a primitive fear and dread at the fearful magic of print. (Clinging to the Wreckage)
4. Never believe a rumour until you hear it officially denied. (A-Z Quotes)
5. It is desperately important to remember when enough is enough, when you’ve finished the scene. (A-Z Quotes)
6. Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn’t ready to appear ridiculous. (The Summer of a Dormouse)
7. The greatest horrors of our world are committed by people who are totally sincere. (A-Z Quotes)
8. When… I told my father I wanted to be a writer, he had asked me to consider my unfortunate wife, who would have me about the house all day ‘wearing a dressing gown, brewing tea and stumped for words’. (Murderers and Other Friends: Another Part of Life)
9. I don’t think you ever feel a success really because everything could always be done better than you’ve done it. (A-Z Quotes)
10. The only rule I have found to have any validity in writing is not to bore yourself. (A-Z Quotes)

John Mortimer was an English barrister and writer. He penned novels, autobiographical works, and plays for the stage. He also wrote for television, radio, and film. Mortimer began his writing career as a novelist with the publication of Charade. Many of his works drew on his legal experience, and the television production of his play The Dock Brief established his reputation. He is best remembered for short stories about a barrister named Horace Rumpole, which were adapted from episodes of the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey also written by Mortimer. Throughout his writing career Mortimer maintained his law practice and became known as one of Great Britain’s principal defenders in free-speech and civil-rights cases. He wrote a memoir titled Clinging to the Wreckage: Another Part of Life. Mortimer won a BAFTA Award for creating Rumpole. He was awarded a CBE in 1986, and he was knighted in the 1998 Birthday Honours.

Source for image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_John_Mortimer.jpg (Fair Use)

by Amanda Patterson

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