I saw the film of this about 40 years ago and still remember the line "Here come those tired old tits again." Peter Finch and Anne Bancroft, as I recall.

She's good - or rather the film was - but no. The woman I'm thinking of started as a writer for children, older children. Good stuff that. She lived in India as a child and wrote an auto biography. Terribly English upperish middle class, but then all the Penelopes are that.

Penelope Mortimer was married to John Mortimer QC, the champagne socialist, novelist and playwright whose greatest literaray creation was Rumpole of the Bailey, a wine-soaked barrister undfer the thumbof his wife 'She who must be obeyed'. He defended small time criminals and always got them off. Short stories of a very middlebrow kind. Worth looking for if you are an American. If you are English you will know them. The character was brought to life by the excellent Leo McKern.

Rumpole is well known here, too. My father loved the series! (As do I.) I brought the series home to my father, whose hearing by that time began to fail and he couldn't watch unless the volume was turned up to an unbelievable volume. I could hardly complain as he adamantly denied being hard of hearing. Instead, he blamed the (damn) English accent!

Kevin

Penelope Lively?

THAT's the lady! And jolly good she is too. Thanks Holly.

I am a new latecomer catching up on things
 

What a treat to stumble upon a thread with the heading: Barbara Pym. I love her books, the humor bubbling under the surface, the precision of her descriptions of character, everything she wrote is a delight: The dirty dish water in Jane and Prudence, the hasty stashing away under a sofa pillow of a corset being mended in my absolute favorite, Crampton Hodnet.
And then you go on to name a bouquet of favorites, Penelopes Lively and Fitzgerald. Offshore is my favorite Fitzgerald, of Lively's books I have only read The Photograph, I don't know what I'm waiting for to read all of her books, she is a wonderful writer.
And so nice to know that Muriel Sparks is on someone else's list of enjoyed reading. No one has mentioned Anita Brookner, I like her bitter books. And going back a little further, how about Molly Keen (Kean?). I love her Good Behavior..........
And re. Amis, Sr. - Lucky Jim is a gem!

The latest Spark I've read is The Girls of Slender Means, which is a real joy and very moving.

For Henry James fans, I recommend both David Lodge's Author! Author! and Colm Toibin's The Master. You might be interested in Lodge's essay "The Year of Henry James," which details his reaction when he found out that Toibin's novel was scheduled for publication a few months before his own.

I really enjoyed Author Author. Interesting that Lodge should write a book so different from his earlier, humorous books. I started to read his book about the three simultaneous books about Henry James, but found it whiney, and I put it away.