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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
John Mortimer’s Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders sees our eponymous hero tackle his first-ever case. It is just after the way and two RAF heroes are found shot dead. Simon Jerold, the son of one of the victims, is the only suspect and young Rumpole is given the hopeless task of defending him. But Rumpole is determined to save his client from the gallows and make a name for himself. His bid to do so opens the first chapter in the story of the law’s finest comic creation.
The time has come. Horace Rumpole is writing his memoir of the case that set him towards the criminal bar, a case that he had to defend alone and without a leader when he was only a humble white wig. In between advising Miss Ingolsby (Liz Probert’s pupil) on how to handle unwelcome compliments from Claude Erskine-Brown, Rumpole sets out how he became involved in defending Simon Jerold, accused of shooting his father, Jerry and Jerry’s best friend, ‘Tail-End’ Charlie Weston in their respective bungalows in Penge. The case against Jerold is damning and Rumpole’s leader, Mr Wystan’s resolved not to make a fuss in favour of trying to tease some extenuating provocation from Jerold. Rumpole however, is determined to save Jerold from the gallows and in the process attracts the attention of Hilda Wystan, a young lady well used to being obeyed …
John Mortimer’s last Rumpole novel tells the tale of the barrister’s most famous case and also how he came to become involved with the notorious Timson family. Although I’ve watched the TV series, this is the first Rumpole novel that I’ve ever read and I found it delightful. It’s almost impossible to read it without hearing the wonderful Leo McKern’s voice and I thoroughly enjoyed the little asides and the barbed comments that go unsaid as well as the young Rumpole’s hapless love life. The mystery element works well too as Rumpole struggles to conjure a strategy to clear Jerold while clashing with Mr Wystan who sees a proper defence as unbecoming of the bar. It’s a short novel but that’s only because Mortimer recognised that brevity is the soul of wit and I will definitely be reading the other Rumpole books.
There’s something rather sweet about the young Rumpole. Constantly thwarted in love – both by more smooth rivals and by circumstance – I enjoyed his blissful ignorance when Hilda sets her cap at him almost as much as I enjoyed the gruff companionship of their later years. Also great are the scenes at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court where he encounters the Timson clan for the first time and gets a sense of their complicated, criminal lives. There’s a surprising number of red herrings and complications in the main case and while the outcome is never in doubt, the journey still holds the attention. On the basis of this, I will be reading the other Rumpole books.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s last Rumpole novel tells the tale of the barrister’s most famous case and also how he came to become involved with the notorious Timson family. Although I’ve watched the TV series, this is the first Rumpole novel that I’ve ever read and I found it delightful. It’s almost impossible to read it without hearing the wonderful Leo McKern’s voice and I thoroughly enjoyed the little asides and the barbed comments that go unsaid as well as the young Rumpole’s hapless love life. The mystery element works well too as Rumpole struggles to conjure a strategy to clear Jerold while clashing with Mr Wystan who sees a proper defence as unbecoming of the bar. It’s a short novel but that’s only because Mortimer recognised that brevity is the soul of wit and I will definitely be reading the other Rumpole books.
John Mortimer’s Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders sees our eponymous hero tackle his first-ever case. It is just after the way and two RAF heroes are found shot dead. Simon Jerold, the son of one of the victims, is the only suspect and young Rumpole is given the hopeless task of defending him. But Rumpole is determined to save his client from the gallows and make a name for himself. His bid to do so opens the first chapter in the story of the law’s finest comic creation.
The time has come. Horace Rumpole is writing his memoir of the case that set him towards the criminal bar, a case that he had to defend alone and without a leader when he was only a humble white wig. In between advising Miss Ingolsby (Liz Probert’s pupil) on how to handle unwelcome compliments from Claude Erskine-Brown, Rumpole sets out how he became involved in defending Simon Jerold, accused of shooting his father, Jerry and Jerry’s best friend, ‘Tail-End’ Charlie Weston in their respective bungalows in Penge. The case against Jerold is damning and Rumpole’s leader, Mr Wystan’s resolved not to make a fuss in favour of trying to tease some extenuating provocation from Jerold. Rumpole however, is determined to save Jerold from the gallows and in the process attracts the attention of Hilda Wystan, a young lady well used to being obeyed …
John Mortimer’s last Rumpole novel tells the tale of the barrister’s most famous case and also how he came to become involved with the notorious Timson family. Although I’ve watched the TV series, this is the first Rumpole novel that I’ve ever read and I found it delightful. It’s almost impossible to read it without hearing the wonderful Leo McKern’s voice and I thoroughly enjoyed the little asides and the barbed comments that go unsaid as well as the young Rumpole’s hapless love life. The mystery element works well too as Rumpole struggles to conjure a strategy to clear Jerold while clashing with Mr Wystan who sees a proper defence as unbecoming of the bar. It’s a short novel but that’s only because Mortimer recognised that brevity is the soul of wit and I will definitely be reading the other Rumpole books.
There’s something rather sweet about the young Rumpole. Constantly thwarted in love – both by more smooth rivals and by circumstance – I enjoyed his blissful ignorance when Hilda sets her cap at him almost as much as I enjoyed the gruff companionship of their later years. Also great are the scenes at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court where he encounters the Timson clan for the first time and gets a sense of their complicated, criminal lives. There’s a surprising number of red herrings and complications in the main case and while the outcome is never in doubt, the journey still holds the attention. On the basis of this, I will be reading the other Rumpole books.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s last Rumpole novel tells the tale of the barrister’s most famous case and also how he came to become involved with the notorious Timson family. Although I’ve watched the TV series, this is the first Rumpole novel that I’ve ever read and I found it delightful. It’s almost impossible to read it without hearing the wonderful Leo McKern’s voice and I thoroughly enjoyed the little asides and the barbed comments that go unsaid as well as the young Rumpole’s hapless love life. The mystery element works well too as Rumpole struggles to conjure a strategy to clear Jerold while clashing with Mr Wystan who sees a proper defence as unbecoming of the bar. It’s a short novel but that’s only because Mortimer recognised that brevity is the soul of wit and I will definitely be reading the other Rumpole books.
