Well known for his social satire on British law and jurisprudence — represented by his famous character Horace Rumpole, the crotchety barrister of the Old Bailey — the novelist John Mortimer now ranks as one of Great Britain’s premier mystery writers.

He also has, however, a flair for political tales, and his most popular creation has been Lord Leslie Titmuss, the beloved First Baron Skurfield. Titmuss — a longtime Tory MP for Hartscombe and Worsfield South — was Minister for Housing, Ecological Affairs and Planning (or HEAP) back in the Tories’ glory days. He rose to great power in the Thatcher years, and his love for the Iron Lady remains intact.