Daughter of the 7th Earl of Longford, Francis Pakenham, and the Countess
of Longford, Elizabeth Harman, and sister of fellow writers
Antonia Fraser and Tom Pakenham.
Mother of Nathaniel Kevin (b. 1970), Catherine Rose (b. 1973), Chloe Margaret (b. 1976) and Caspar Leo (b. 1979).
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to Literature. She is the Author and Vice President of the English PEN.