Rumpole Rests His Case

Rating:
Summary: The Bard of the Bailey retires...
Review: ...Or does he?

That's the question long-time readers are left pondering after that irascible, curmudgeony barrister Rumpole solves his last case in the book from a hospital bed.

It's a sad thought to consider, especially after reading seven delightful new stories featuring all of one's favorite Rumpole characters, from She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed to Claude Erskine-Brown to Mizz Liz Probert. Still, it is Rumpole that one truly reads for, and Mortimer has once again crafted a comfortable but multi-layered lead character who is at once off-putting and likable, plain-spoken yet charmingly witty. Although Mortimer plays with the Rumpole character and the traditional Rumpole story -- if only slightly but always successfully -- one gets the idea that he wanted to really have some fun with Rumpole should this be their last outing together. And the result is that we all have fun.

Indeed, reading Rumpole is like sitting with a favorite uncle as he regales you with tale after tale -- you always want there to be just one more story, one more evening with a larger than life character that you love.

Rating:
Summary: He's baaack!
Review: After a long hiatus, John Mortimer brings back the venerable Horace Rumpole, everyone's favourite (he deserves an English spelling) crochety, cheroot-chomping lawyer. For fans of the series, She Who Must Be Obeyed, FIG Newton, the Timsons, and Chateu Thames Embankment are all back. And as ever, in this collection of cases, Rumpole does not always emerge victorious.

This batch of cases is wonderfully up to date. Rumpole deals with smoking bans and defends Afghan refugees and pot-toking right wing hypocrites. As ever, he fights off modernity, career advancement, and interior decorators with wit as caustic and prose as crisp as ever.

I won't spoil the big ending but for fans of the series, what can one say to old Horace but "welcome back!"

In memory of Leo Kern.

Rating:
Summary: Rumpole Rules!
Review: Let's get this straight up front: I love Rumpole of the Bailey stories!! From the time I began watching the late, great Leo McKern portray the sarcastic and bombastic barrister on PBS, and right up through reading the Rumpole stories, I have been delighted, both by the writing, and by the actors in the series. As an attorney myself, I can identify to a certain extent with Rumpole, although the American system of justice is very different from the British. There are gleasms of recognition with various of the characters in the stories, both Rompole's legal chums and the always unusual judges whom he encounters. The stories are excellent, the characters, both important and minor, extremely well-drawn, and I just can't get enough of these tales. I'm only sorry that there will be no further television Rumpoles, but I look forward eagerly to every new edition of stories. Long may they continue!

Rating:
Summary: Rumpole at Rest...
Review: The underlying thread in this collection of stories is freedom -- specifically, Rumpole's "right" to smoke in chambers. He is more a champion of the underdog than most leftists today, yet maintains a wonderfully conservative suspicion of social engineering. The stories are stand alone. The best in my view is the teenage werewolf. A great read....