Rumpole Of The Bailey by John Mortimer
Jul. 12th, 2014 07:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Horace Rumpole is the lovable, irreverent, claret-swigging, poetry-spouting criminal lawyer immortalized on TV.
John Mortimer’s first collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1978) immediately sets the tone for this highly successful comedy/crime series with Mortimer expertly combining the humorous with the bitter sweet. Although in some respects it’s very much a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of hippy counter culture is quite clichéd), the attitudes displayed – notably Rumpole’s approach to cross-examining a rape witness – remain topical today.
RUMPOLE AND THE YOUNGER GENERATION marks the start of Rumpole’s memoirs. Set in 1965, Rumpole’s asked to defend 16-year-old Jim Timson who’s accused of robbing a pair of Brixton butchers but he’s also contemplating assuming the position of head of chambers now that his father-in-law C. H. Wystan is too ill to continue. I really enjoyed the comparison Rumpole draws between Jim and his own son, Nick, who’s home for the holidays and the hints of Rumpole’s ambition in his discussions with Guthrie Featherstone.
RUMPOLE AND THE ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY is probably the weakest in the collection. It’s now the early 1970s and Rumpole travels to Coldsands to defend a woman accused of supplying drugs to an undercover policeman and stays with his old war friends Bobby and Sam Dogherty. The depiction of commune life made me wince and I didn’t believe in the defendant, Kathy Trelawney, at all although I did enjoy Rumpole’s thoughts about a simpler life.
RUMPOLE AND THE HONOURABLE MEMBER sees Rumpole representing a Labour MP accused of rape. In some respects this is very much a product of its time with Rumpole blithely ripping apart the victim on the stand but it’s also very contemporary in that it discusses the issues that go to the heart of a rape case and again, there’s that bittersweet element with Nick’s return from the USA with his girlfriend who disapproves of Rumpole’s methods.
RUMPOLE AND THE MARRIED LADY was a really enjoyable story in which Rumpole dips a toe into the world of divorce only to find his clingy client having a strange effect on Hilda. Mortimer has a lot of fun to be had with the Thripp’s marriage and the mirroring with that of the Rumpole’s and I enjoyed Rumpole’s scenes with his friend, the hapless George Frobisher.
RUMPOLE AND THE LEARNED FRIENDS sees Rumpole having to serve as Guthrie’s junior on a safecracking case only for his machinations to put him in a spot of bother with the Bar council. What I liked about this was Hilda’s obvious concern both for him and his career, contrasted with the machinations of Rumpole’s colleagues in chambers who see an opportunity to get his office.
RUMPOLE AND THE HEAVY BRIGADE is a not-so-subtle nod to the Krays when the Delgardo brothers appoint Rumpole to defend their younger brother Peter against a murder charge (alone and without a leader). Rumpole’s confidence is boosted by the appointment as crime cases have been thin on the ground since the events in LEARNED FRIENDS but the Delgado brothers are keen that Peter plead guilty even though Peter and the evidence suggest he’s innocent. This is Rumpole at his puffed up best, magnificent in his pursuit of justice regardless of the consequences but again, there’s that hint at sadness as he’s confronted with how others see his reputation.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s first collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1978) immediately sets the tone for this highly successful comedy/crime series with Mortimer expertly combining the humorous with the bitter sweet. Although in some respects it’s very much a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of hippy counter culture is quite clichéd), the attitudes displayed – notably Rumpole’s approach to cross-examining a rape witness – remain topical today.
Horace Rumpole is the lovable, irreverent, claret-swigging, poetry-spouting criminal lawyer immortalized on TV.
John Mortimer’s first collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1978) immediately sets the tone for this highly successful comedy/crime series with Mortimer expertly combining the humorous with the bitter sweet. Although in some respects it’s very much a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of hippy counter culture is quite clichéd), the attitudes displayed – notably Rumpole’s approach to cross-examining a rape witness – remain topical today.
RUMPOLE AND THE YOUNGER GENERATION marks the start of Rumpole’s memoirs. Set in 1965, Rumpole’s asked to defend 16-year-old Jim Timson who’s accused of robbing a pair of Brixton butchers but he’s also contemplating assuming the position of head of chambers now that his father-in-law C. H. Wystan is too ill to continue. I really enjoyed the comparison Rumpole draws between Jim and his own son, Nick, who’s home for the holidays and the hints of Rumpole’s ambition in his discussions with Guthrie Featherstone.
RUMPOLE AND THE ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY is probably the weakest in the collection. It’s now the early 1970s and Rumpole travels to Coldsands to defend a woman accused of supplying drugs to an undercover policeman and stays with his old war friends Bobby and Sam Dogherty. The depiction of commune life made me wince and I didn’t believe in the defendant, Kathy Trelawney, at all although I did enjoy Rumpole’s thoughts about a simpler life.
RUMPOLE AND THE HONOURABLE MEMBER sees Rumpole representing a Labour MP accused of rape. In some respects this is very much a product of its time with Rumpole blithely ripping apart the victim on the stand but it’s also very contemporary in that it discusses the issues that go to the heart of a rape case and again, there’s that bittersweet element with Nick’s return from the USA with his girlfriend who disapproves of Rumpole’s methods.
RUMPOLE AND THE MARRIED LADY was a really enjoyable story in which Rumpole dips a toe into the world of divorce only to find his clingy client having a strange effect on Hilda. Mortimer has a lot of fun to be had with the Thripp’s marriage and the mirroring with that of the Rumpole’s and I enjoyed Rumpole’s scenes with his friend, the hapless George Frobisher.
RUMPOLE AND THE LEARNED FRIENDS sees Rumpole having to serve as Guthrie’s junior on a safecracking case only for his machinations to put him in a spot of bother with the Bar council. What I liked about this was Hilda’s obvious concern both for him and his career, contrasted with the machinations of Rumpole’s colleagues in chambers who see an opportunity to get his office.
RUMPOLE AND THE HEAVY BRIGADE is a not-so-subtle nod to the Krays when the Delgardo brothers appoint Rumpole to defend their younger brother Peter against a murder charge (alone and without a leader). Rumpole’s confidence is boosted by the appointment as crime cases have been thin on the ground since the events in LEARNED FRIENDS but the Delgado brothers are keen that Peter plead guilty even though Peter and the evidence suggest he’s innocent. This is Rumpole at his puffed up best, magnificent in his pursuit of justice regardless of the consequences but again, there’s that hint at sadness as he’s confronted with how others see his reputation.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s first collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1978) immediately sets the tone for this highly successful comedy/crime series with Mortimer expertly combining the humorous with the bitter sweet. Although in some respects it’s very much a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of hippy counter culture is quite clichéd), the attitudes displayed – notably Rumpole’s approach to cross-examining a rape witness – remain topical today.
