The Trials Of Rumpole by John Mortimer
Jul. 20th, 2014 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Horace Rumpole – a man who never prosecutes, whose fame rests on his knowledge, whose court scenes are proverbial and whose home is ruled by Mrs Rumpole is back in this collection of stories.
John Mortimer’s second collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1979) continues the barrister’s memoirs but sees the action move on to the (then) present day. There’s more of an edge to this collection with Rumpole being confronted more with the consequences of his actions and being forced to face the unpleasant flip side of his ideals. Once again, although it is in many respects a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of right wing politics and left wing tendencies) there remains a bittersweet element that runs throughout all of the stories, particularly towards the end where Rumpole has to deal with the machinations of his colleagues in chambers who are keen to push him into retirement. All in all, it’s an entertaining, breezy read and I’ll definitely check out the other Rumpole books.
RUMPOLE AND THE MAN OF GOD sees Rumpole defending a priest accused of shoplifting, but he’s more concerned about his friend, George Frobisher, who is contemplating marriage to a former client of Rumpole’s and (more worryingly) leaving the Bar to become a circuit judge. What’s interesting is how Rumpole has to deal with the moral dilemma of his loyalty to his friend versus his loyalty to his client and his attitude towards his old cases.
RUMPOLE AND THE SHOWFOLK reunites Rumpole with his old clerk Albert Handyside who brings him up north to Grimble to defend Margaret Hartley, and actress in the local provincial theatre accused of murdering her husband. Disgruntled at having to play junior to local QC Jarvis Allen, who thinks that Hartley’s confession makes this a hopeless case, Rumpole’s convinced that she’s innocent and is determined to formulate a defence. What I liked about this is how Rumpole’s cleverness and idealism is challenged by the unfolding events and how that raises doubts in his own minds about what he does.
RUMPOLE AND THE FASCIST BEAST is the darkest story in the collection. Rumpole’s defending a fascist accused of racial incitement and takes on a young Pakistani pupil, which causes a stir in chambers. There’s a queasy simplicity to the way the story examines racism and the popularity of fascist politics that left me uncomfortable and I’m not sure that the ending is as effective as Mortimer intended.
RUMPOLE AND THE CASE OF IDENTITY sees Rumpole defending a man accused of GBH whose distinctive cap has apparently given the prosecution an open and shut case at the same time as Guthrie Featherstone seems to be having a mid-life crisis with an affair that’s rocking chambers. I enjoyed Rumpole’s sense of loyalty to justice and to the man who beat him to head of chambers (albeit you get the impression that this is partly because he doesn’t want the responsibility) but again the depiction of left wing politics makes it feel very dated.
RUMPOLE AND THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE has Rumpole defending a teacher accused of having sex with an underage schoolgirl. Again, there’s a queasy simplicity to the depiction of the issue here and now that we’re in a post-Savile age, it’s difficult to sympathise with Rumpole’s stance on it (although Mortimer does well with showing the teacher’s emotions). Similarly, Guthrie’s antics (although played for laughs) would nowadays see him brought to an employment tribunal and the depiction of discos and the beautiful people is decidedly 70s. However, I did enjoy Rumpole’s overconfidence at defending a case in front of his old friend George Frobisher and how that leads him to make assumptions he shouldn’t make.
RUMPOLE AND THE AGE FOR RETIREMENT forces Rumpole to contend with his own old age as he defends Percy Timson on a charge of handling stolen goods. Although the return of the Timson clan was welcome, I’m not sure I believed in some of their actions. Rumpole’s obliviousness to the machinations of his colleagues and wife though are great and I enjoyed Rumpole’s rumination on old age as he contemplates a life outside the bar.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s second collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1979) continues the barrister’s memoirs but sees the action move on to the (then) present day. There’s more of an edge to this collection with Rumpole being confronted more with the consequences of his actions and being forced to face the unpleasant flip side of his ideals. Once again, although it is in many respects a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of right wing politics and left wing tendencies) there remains a bittersweet element that runs throughout all of the stories, particularly towards the end where Rumpole has to deal with the machinations of his colleagues in chambers who are keen to push him into retirement. All in all, it’s an entertaining, breezy read and I’ll definitely check out the other Rumpole books.
Horace Rumpole – a man who never prosecutes, whose fame rests on his knowledge, whose court scenes are proverbial and whose home is ruled by Mrs Rumpole is back in this collection of stories.
John Mortimer’s second collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1979) continues the barrister’s memoirs but sees the action move on to the (then) present day. There’s more of an edge to this collection with Rumpole being confronted more with the consequences of his actions and being forced to face the unpleasant flip side of his ideals. Once again, although it is in many respects a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of right wing politics and left wing tendencies) there remains a bittersweet element that runs throughout all of the stories, particularly towards the end where Rumpole has to deal with the machinations of his colleagues in chambers who are keen to push him into retirement. All in all, it’s an entertaining, breezy read and I’ll definitely check out the other Rumpole books.
RUMPOLE AND THE MAN OF GOD sees Rumpole defending a priest accused of shoplifting, but he’s more concerned about his friend, George Frobisher, who is contemplating marriage to a former client of Rumpole’s and (more worryingly) leaving the Bar to become a circuit judge. What’s interesting is how Rumpole has to deal with the moral dilemma of his loyalty to his friend versus his loyalty to his client and his attitude towards his old cases.
RUMPOLE AND THE SHOWFOLK reunites Rumpole with his old clerk Albert Handyside who brings him up north to Grimble to defend Margaret Hartley, and actress in the local provincial theatre accused of murdering her husband. Disgruntled at having to play junior to local QC Jarvis Allen, who thinks that Hartley’s confession makes this a hopeless case, Rumpole’s convinced that she’s innocent and is determined to formulate a defence. What I liked about this is how Rumpole’s cleverness and idealism is challenged by the unfolding events and how that raises doubts in his own minds about what he does.
RUMPOLE AND THE FASCIST BEAST is the darkest story in the collection. Rumpole’s defending a fascist accused of racial incitement and takes on a young Pakistani pupil, which causes a stir in chambers. There’s a queasy simplicity to the way the story examines racism and the popularity of fascist politics that left me uncomfortable and I’m not sure that the ending is as effective as Mortimer intended.
RUMPOLE AND THE CASE OF IDENTITY sees Rumpole defending a man accused of GBH whose distinctive cap has apparently given the prosecution an open and shut case at the same time as Guthrie Featherstone seems to be having a mid-life crisis with an affair that’s rocking chambers. I enjoyed Rumpole’s sense of loyalty to justice and to the man who beat him to head of chambers (albeit you get the impression that this is partly because he doesn’t want the responsibility) but again the depiction of left wing politics makes it feel very dated.
RUMPOLE AND THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE has Rumpole defending a teacher accused of having sex with an underage schoolgirl. Again, there’s a queasy simplicity to the depiction of the issue here and now that we’re in a post-Savile age, it’s difficult to sympathise with Rumpole’s stance on it (although Mortimer does well with showing the teacher’s emotions). Similarly, Guthrie’s antics (although played for laughs) would nowadays see him brought to an employment tribunal and the depiction of discos and the beautiful people is decidedly 70s. However, I did enjoy Rumpole’s overconfidence at defending a case in front of his old friend George Frobisher and how that leads him to make assumptions he shouldn’t make.
RUMPOLE AND THE AGE FOR RETIREMENT forces Rumpole to contend with his own old age as he defends Percy Timson on a charge of handling stolen goods. Although the return of the Timson clan was welcome, I’m not sure I believed in some of their actions. Rumpole’s obliviousness to the machinations of his colleagues and wife though are great and I enjoyed Rumpole’s rumination on old age as he contemplates a life outside the bar.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s second collection of Rumpole short stories (published in 1979) continues the barrister’s memoirs but sees the action move on to the (then) present day. There’s more of an edge to this collection with Rumpole being confronted more with the consequences of his actions and being forced to face the unpleasant flip side of his ideals. Once again, although it is in many respects a product of its time (e.g. the depiction of right wing politics and left wing tendencies) there remains a bittersweet element that runs throughout all of the stories, particularly towards the end where Rumpole has to deal with the machinations of his colleagues in chambers who are keen to push him into retirement. All in all, it’s an entertaining, breezy read and I’ll definitely check out the other Rumpole books.
