The film-maker Hannah Rothschild describes her great aunt Pannonica Rothschild as "the one who got away" from the weight of responsibility attached to the family name. She moved from war-torn France and set up home in New York in the early 1950s, where she soon became patron and friend to bebop greats like Charlie Parker (who died in her hotel room) and Thelonious Monk (whom she nursed until his death).
Hannah Rothschild is a London-based writer and film director. Her documentary films are shown on networks worldwide; Ridley Scott and Working Title have acquired her feature film scripts; she writes for newspapers and magazines and has presented radio and television programmes. Other activities include being Vice-President of the Hay Festival and a judge of this year’s Samuel Johnson Prize. BBC Storyville has bought the Jazz Baroness and Hannah is writing the biography for Virago.
