Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet,

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

(born 2 July 1939), is a British writer, novelist, and columnist for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'', as well as a political commentator.

Life

Ferdinand Mount, brought up by his parents in the isolated village of Chitterne,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

, began school at the age of eight. He then attended Greenways and Sunningdale School before

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, after which he went to Christ Church, Oxford. Mount worked at Conservative Party HQ as

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

of the

Number 10 Policy Unit The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone through a series of guises to suit th ...

during 1982–83, when

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

was Prime Minister and played a significant part in devising the 1983 general election

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

. Mount is regarded as being on the one-nation or "wet" side of the Conservative Party. He succeeded his uncle, Sir William Mount, in the family title as 3rd

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1993, but prefers to remain known as Ferdinand Mount. For eleven years (1991–2002) he was editor of the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', and then became a regular contributor to '' Standpoint'' magazine. He wrote for ''

'', and in 2005 joined ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' as a commentator. He writes for the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review ...

''. Mount has written novels, including a six-volume

novel sequence A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

called ''Chronicle of Modern Twilight'', centring on a low-key character, Gus Cotton; the title alludes to the sequence ''A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight'' by

Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history and ruralism. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book '' Tark ...

, and another sequence entitled ''Tales of History and Imagination''. Volume 5, entitled 'Fairness', was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2001. Sir Ferdinand serves as Chairman of the Friends of the British Library and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(FRSL) in 1991.

Family

The only son of Robert (Robin) Mount, an army officer and amateur steeplechase jockey, and Lady Julia Pakenham, youngest daughter of the 5th Earl of Longford, KP, Ferdinand inherited the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

from his uncle Lt-Col. Sir William Mount, Bt, TD, DL, who died in 1993, having had three daughters, including Mary Cameron, JP (b. 1934), mother of

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

, former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

(and Conservative Party leader). The Labour politician Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, and his brother,

Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford Edward Arthur Henry Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford (29 December 1902 – 4 February 1961) was an Irish peer, politician, and '' littérateur''. Also known as Eamon de Longphort, he was a member of the fifth Seanad Éireann, the upper house of th ...

, were Mount's maternal uncles. His maternal aunts were the writers

Lady Mary Clive Lady Mary Katherine Clive (''née'' Pakenham 23 August 1907 – 19 March 2010) was a British writer and historian, known for her memoirs of her family and her time as a debutante. Life Born into the Anglo-Irish Longford family, Lady Mary was t ...

Lady Pansy Lamb Lady Margaret Pansy Felicia Lamb, known as Lady Pansy Lamb (18 May 1904 – 19 February 1999) was an English writer under her maiden name of Pansy Pakenham. A novelist, biographer, and translator of French poetry, she was the wife of the Austral ...

and Lady Violet Powell, the wife of author Anthony Powell. Sir Ferdinand and his wife, Julia ''née'' Lucas, live in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

; he and Lady Mount have three surviving children, William (b. 1969 and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

), Harry (b. 1971, a journalist) and Mary (b. 1972, an editor who is married to Indian writer

Pankaj Mishra Pankaj Mishra FRSL (born 1969) is an Indian essayist and novelist. He was awarded the Windham–Campbell Prize for non-fiction in 2014. Early life and education Mishra was born in Jhansi, India. His father was a railway worker and trade unioni ...

Works

*''Very Like a Whale'' (1967), novel *''The Theatre of Politics'' (1972), *''The Man Who Rode Ampersand'' (1975), novel, (''Chronicle of Modern Twilight – 1'') *''The Clique'' (1978), novel *''The Subversive Family: An Alternative History of Love and Marriage'' (1982) *''The Practice of Liberty'' (1986), novel *''The Selkirk Strip'' (1987), novel, (''Chronicle of Modern Twilight – 2'') *''Of Love and Asthma'' (1991), novel, (''Chronicle of Modern Twilight – 3''), Winner of the Hawthornden Prize 1992 *''Communism: A Times Literary Supplement Companion'' (1992), editor *''The British Constitution Now: Recovery or Decline?'' (1992) *''The Recovery of the Constitution'' (Sovereignty Lectures) (1992) *''Umbrella: A Pacific Tale'' (1994), novel, (''Tales of History and Imagination – 1'') *''The Liquidator'' (1995), novel, (''Chronicle of Modern Twilight – 4'') *''Jem (and Sam): A Revenger's Tale'' (1999), novel, (''Tales of History and Imagination – 2'') *''Fairness'' (2001), novel, (''Chronicle of Modern Twilight – 5'') *''Mind the Gap: Class in Britain Now'' (2004) *''Heads You Win'' (2004), novel, (''Chronicle of Modern Twilight – 6'') *''Private Life 21st Century'' (2006) *''The Condor's Head'' (2007), novel *''Cold Cream: My Early Life and Other Mistakes'' (2009), memoir *''Full Circle: How the Classical World Came Back to Us'' (2010) *''The New Few: Power and Inequality in Britain Now or A Very British Oligarchy'' (2012) *''The Tears of the Rajas: Mutiny, Money and Marriage in India 1805–1905'' (2015) *''English Voices: Lives, Landscapes, Laments'' (2016) *''Prime Movers: From Pericles to Gandhi'' (2018) *''Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca'' (2020) *''Making Nice'' (2021), novel

References

External links

www.spectator.co.uk

www.burkespeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount, Ferdinand 1939 births Living people People from Islington (district) People educated at Greenways School People educated at Sunningdale School People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British male journalists British male novelists British memoirists British non-fiction writers Daily Mail journalists The Daily Telegraph people London Evening Standard people The Sunday Times people Conservative Party (UK) politicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

Life

Family

Works

See also

References

External links