Possibly the most famous character ever to
fall from the pen of John Mortimer, there is no doubt that Rumpole always
provides a delightful and enjoyable read. Most of the books are in short story
form, but there are one or two that are of novel or novella length.
It’s hard to put a genre on the books. If I
had to, “law mystery” is probably the one I’d go for. Unusually for a
detective, Rumpole, the main character, is a barrister in his sixties, is
married, and has a son. In his own words, Rumpole is “an Old Bailey hack” He
smokes endless small cigars (hmmm….remind you of anyone?), can talk for hours
about bloodstains, loves to quote poetry, and has only one motto: “Never plead
guilty”.
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| Image links to Amazon |
The stories mostly talk about the cases he’s working on, but there are side plots detailing the interaction between him and his fellow barristers and various events that go on in his chambers. I think the stories are mostly set in the 80s or 90s, through the later books seem to have moved into this century: you can see computers and cell phones being used, and even some personal problems stemming from confusion over modern technology.
If you haven’t read the books before, you’re
truly missing out on something wonderful. The books are fantastically written.
I sometimes get one of them down from the shelf thinking I’ll just read one of
the short stories and go do something else…and I always end up reading the
whole book through from beginning to end. The mystery element is interesting,
but Rumpole himself is just too hilarious for words. I like that he has
principles and lives by his own “don’t plead guilty” code of honor. Nowadays we
tend to think of lawyers (or anyone associated with the law) as sleazy or
greedy, so it’s nice to imagine that there are people like Rumpole out there
who really do work to uphold some form of justice.
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| Forever Rumpole (The Best of the Rumpole Stories) Image links to Amazon |
I have to confess - I never read the books but I enjoyed the TV series. Maybe, one day...
ReplyDeleteI've seen both and I like how true the TV series are to the book. (Unlike that film...)
ReplyDeleteStrangely, I have not actually read the books, or seen the TV show. After reading your comments, I picked up an audiobook in a library sale. This is a full length novel. Rumpole is writing his memoirs, so the story keeps going from him chatting, to 30-year old Rumpole on his first case and his first meeting with "She who must be obeyed". It is particularly interesting to us, in that it is set shortly after WW2, and two ex-bomber pilots have been shot dead, apparently by the son of one of them, who is now facing the death penalty.
ReplyDeleteI see why you love the books so much. Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders is read by Bill Wallis, who is very good with voices, and I can see Leo McKern when he does that voice: he also distinguishes between the young and the old Rumpole. The story is funny, but there is tension because a life is in the balance and only Rumpole thinks the accused might not be guilty.
Rumpole's future wife is important in this story, and there is one scene with her in particular that I found very funny indeed.
This is unabridged and takes 6 hours to listen to so has taken me several days, but I can imagine it is very difficult to put down if reading it. I had a bit of trouble in the last minutes of the story, but that might be me (don't want to say more because of giving away the ending).
I'm not really so much of a fan of that book, mostly because I find the younger Rumpole too eager and inexperienced compared to the older one, but it is interesting to finally hear about his greatest case (which is referred to constantly throughout the books).
ReplyDeleteWhat was wrong with the ending? I thought it was all right, but it's been a while since I read it, so maybe I missed something.
Leo McKern does a very good job reading the books (and acting Rumpole too, of course). I remember listening to one audiobook where he said the name of the book, and then "Written by John Mortimer, and read by Rumpole himself". Not sure why I found that funny, but I did.