[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fqoe2krMFoehUA75trpzuLeJuwqI5TMslpEKBjn6ihuY":3,"$fsEVud8UNBx0kTDx-_I1FPdl7NQswvT8bNN_mSWxp71o":56},{"author":4,"tags":51},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":10,"bio_jsonld":11,"slug":49,"image_url":50},40933,"John Mortimer","J",116,"John Mortimer was a British playwright, barrister, screenwriter, and novelist who worked in the English language across theatre, television, and film.\n\nBorn in Hampstead on 21 April 1923, Mortimer received his early education at the Dragon School before proceeding to Harrow School. He later studied at Brasenose College, after which he pursued a career at the bar, practising as a barrister. His legal career ran in parallel with his writing life, giving him a distinctive dual professional identity.\n\nAs a playwright, Mortimer produced work for the stage, television, and film, occupying the roles of screenwriter, television writer, and film producer at various points in his career. Among his notable works is A Voyage Round My Father. He was also a novelist, sustaining a written output across multiple forms throughout his life. His contributions to literature and public life were formally recognised through the award of Commander of the Order of the British Empire and, subsequently, the honour of Knight Bachelor. He was further recognised as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an acknowledgement of his standing among English-language writers.\n\nMortimer died on 16 January 2009 in Turville. The breadth of his professional roles — barrister, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, television writer, and film producer — reflects a working life conducted across distinctly different public arenas, and his notable work A Voyage Round My Father stands as one of the enduring titles associated with his name.","John Mortimer was a British playwright, barrister, screenwriter, and novelist who worked in the English language across theatre, television, and film.",{"@graph":12,"@context":48},[13,25],{"@id":14,"name":6,"@type":15,"sameAs":16,"birthDate":22,"deathDate":23,"description":24},"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q973713","Person",[14,17,18,19,20,21],"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mortimer","https://viaf.org/viaf/105101136/","https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50005846","https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL4340550A","https://d-nb.info/gnd/118584294","1923-04-21","2009-01-16","British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author (1923-2009)",{"@type":26,"author":27,"headline":30,"isBasedOn":31,"mainEntity":32,"reviewedBy":33,"articleBody":9,"dateCreated":34,"dateModified":35,"additionalProperty":36,"creativeWorkStatus":47},"Article",{"name":28,"@type":29},"Editorial Team","Organization","John Mortimer — biography",[14,17,19],{"@id":14},{"name":28,"@type":29},"2026-05-26T03:12:07.703386+00:00","2026-05-26T03:18:49.367709+00:00",[37,41,44],{"@type":38,"value":39,"propertyID":40},"PropertyValue","Q973713","wikidata",{"@type":38,"value":42,"propertyID":43},"1.000","factscore",{"@type":38,"value":45,"propertyID":46},"claude-sonnet-4-6-r1","draftModel","AI-drafted, auto-published","https://schema.org","john-mortimer",null,[52],{"tag_id":53,"tag_name":54,"tag_count":55},56,"thinking",5,{"quotes":57,"pagination":121},[58,66,72,78,84,90,96,102,108,114],{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":50},3744532,"I think being dead isn't any problem. It's the process of dying which is quite off-putting.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":50},3744525,"It's barrister behaviour to say what you think will appeal to the person you're talking to, whoever it happens to be, whether it's true or not.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":75,"source":76,"quote_tag":77,"commentary":50},3744523,"If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get everything done to you.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":79,"quote_text":80,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":81,"source":82,"quote_tag":83,"commentary":50},3744520,"Voting Liberal is a non-thing. Historically, it might be a good idea to have a Conservative government, because change is a good thing. But I don't know that I could bring myself to vote Tory.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":85,"quote_text":86,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":87,"source":88,"quote_tag":89,"commentary":50},3744514,"The hardest thing is to write a play, because you have to hold their attention for two hours, and if you let them go for five minutes, they're gone for good.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":91,"quote_text":92,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":93,"source":94,"quote_tag":95,"commentary":50},3744508,"There are lots of similarities between being a writer and a lawyer: to tell a story to a jury, hold their attention, make them laugh, make them like you. But what makes being a barrister less satisfying than being a writer is, finally, that it's about what someone else wants you to say.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":97,"quote_text":98,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":99,"source":100,"quote_tag":101,"commentary":50},3744506,"I try and treat my children from the age of ten months as if they were totally grown up, which I think is the only way to treat children.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":103,"quote_text":104,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":105,"source":106,"quote_tag":107,"commentary":50},3744501,"My father was the doyen of the divorce barristers. He was an extremely erudite and very famous divorce barrister. So that, when I was a little boy in the nursery, instead of a story like 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' I used to get 'The Duchess and the Seven Correspondents.'",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":109,"quote_text":110,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":111,"source":112,"quote_tag":113,"commentary":50},3744494,"I knew early on that I was going to be a writer. I think it's something rather like a curse that you're born with.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":115,"quote_text":116,"author_id":5,"source_id":61,"has_image":62,"author":117,"source":118,"quote_tag":119,"commentary":120},3744488,"One thing my father said was that if you find yourself in a country where you have to carry papers, you know it has a lousy government.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nJohn Mortimer, the renowned English playwright and novelist, likely shared this quote in the context of his experiences as a writer and traveler. As a child of the British establishment, Mortimer often found himself navigating the complexities of bureaucracy and social hierarchy. This quote may have been spoken during his time as a student at Oxford University or during his travels abroad, perhaps while visiting Eastern European countries under Soviet rule.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote belies a subtle yet profound critique of the relationship between government and individual freedom. On the surface, Mortimer's statement appears to be a lighthearted quip about the red tape associated with authoritarian regimes. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a more nuanced commentary on the ways in which governments often use bureaucratic controls to restrict personal liberty and creativity.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset in your own life, consider the ways in which you may be unconsciously allowing bureaucratic or institutional constraints to stifle your creativity or autonomy. Recognize that the \"papers\" you carry may not be physical documents, but rather the mental or emotional burdens that prevent you from pursuing your passions or taking risks. By acknowledging and challenging these invisible barriers, you can reclaim your agency and tap into your full potential.",{"currentPage":122,"totalPages":123,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":124},1,12,10]