Novelist, playwright, and barrister Sir John Mortimer has led an extraordinarily rich and daring life, privately and professionally, much of it in the public eye. His own writings, including the wildly popular books in the Rumpole of the Bailey series, his three acclaimed volumes of autobiography, and his screenplay for Brideshead Revisited, have rewarded readers and viewers with insight and humor. Now, biographer Valerie Grove has been given full access to Mortimer, tracing his legal and literary career, from his first attempts at writing novels and plays, through his great triumphs in court, to the creation of the popular character Horace Rumpole. Mortimer's personal life--including his marriages and his many affairs--is as colorful as any fiction he's written. Correcting the many errors and half-truths found in a previous biography, Grove's book is essential reading for Mortimer's fans.--From publisher description.