Rumpole’s Return by John Mortimer
Jul. 23rd, 2014 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Horace Rumpole is supposedly enjoying his well-earned retirement, basking in the Florida sunshine. But a colleague’s casual request for advice on a difficult case sends him hurriedly back across the Atlantic. Leaving retirement far behind, the irreverent and claret-swilling Rumpole soon finds himself facing a fanatical religious cult, a mysterious letter written in blood, and the Pornographer-in-Chief to the fair town of Grimble.
After a disastrous run of 10 consecutive defeats before the prejudiced Judge Bullingham, Rumpole hangs up his wig and retires with Hilda to Miami, where his son Nick has taken up a post at the local university. But he misses the cut and thrust of the Old Bailey so when Phillida Trant writes to him for some advice on a murder case, he takes the opportunity to return to his old life in chambers.
Unfortunately, chambers don’t want him back. His room’s been taken by Owen Glendour-Owen, an established Welsh barrister with a solid insurance practice and Ken Cracknell, a radical new junior who’s been assigned to defend Percival Simpson, a tax clerk accused of murdering a random stranger in Notting Hill Gate tube station. It’s Simpson’s case that Phillida wanted Rumpole’s advice on, knowing of his expertise on blood stains as the Crown’s case turns on a letter found in Simpson’s bedsit that’s written in the victim’s blood. But first Rumpole must prove that he’s back in the game and that means a trip to Grimble, where his old clerk Albert Handyside has an obscene publications case that needs his expertise …
John Mortimer’s third Rumpole book (published in 1980 and based on a one-off TV special) sees a more insecure, downcast Rumpole who’s doubting his abilities after a string of failed cases. It’s interesting to see him failing to adjust to retired life in Miami and the saddest parts are when he fails to understand Nick’s desire to try and get closer to him. I didn’t believe in his idealism during the pornography case, especially when he’s given such an obvious way to win and the religious cult is overegged, but I loved his boyish glee at wanting to get stuck into the Simpson case and the Machiavellian way he manipulates the ego of his colleagues in Chambers. Ultimately, this was another entertaining read and I will definitely be checking out the other books.
The best parts of the book revolve around Rumpole’s breeziness and the slick way he imposes himself on everyone. Although Rumpole deludes himself as to what is best for Hilda and Nick, he’s honest about his love of the court and it’s clear that it is a drug for him. I also loved the way Phillida defends him against the plotters, even when it’s not in her best interest to do so.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s third Rumpole book (published in 1980 and based on a one-off TV special) sees a more insecure, downcast Rumpole who’s doubting his abilities after a string of failed cases. It’s interesting to see him failing to adjust to retired life in Miami and the saddest parts are when he fails to understand Nick’s desire to try and get closer to him. I didn’t believe in his idealism during the pornography case, especially when he’s given such an obvious way to win and the religious cult is overegged, but I loved his boyish glee at wanting to get stuck into the Simpson case and the Machiavellian way he manipulates the ego of his colleagues in Chambers. Ultimately, this was another entertaining read and I will definitely be checking out the other books.
Horace Rumpole is supposedly enjoying his well-earned retirement, basking in the Florida sunshine. But a colleague’s casual request for advice on a difficult case sends him hurriedly back across the Atlantic. Leaving retirement far behind, the irreverent and claret-swilling Rumpole soon finds himself facing a fanatical religious cult, a mysterious letter written in blood, and the Pornographer-in-Chief to the fair town of Grimble.
After a disastrous run of 10 consecutive defeats before the prejudiced Judge Bullingham, Rumpole hangs up his wig and retires with Hilda to Miami, where his son Nick has taken up a post at the local university. But he misses the cut and thrust of the Old Bailey so when Phillida Trant writes to him for some advice on a murder case, he takes the opportunity to return to his old life in chambers.
Unfortunately, chambers don’t want him back. His room’s been taken by Owen Glendour-Owen, an established Welsh barrister with a solid insurance practice and Ken Cracknell, a radical new junior who’s been assigned to defend Percival Simpson, a tax clerk accused of murdering a random stranger in Notting Hill Gate tube station. It’s Simpson’s case that Phillida wanted Rumpole’s advice on, knowing of his expertise on blood stains as the Crown’s case turns on a letter found in Simpson’s bedsit that’s written in the victim’s blood. But first Rumpole must prove that he’s back in the game and that means a trip to Grimble, where his old clerk Albert Handyside has an obscene publications case that needs his expertise …
John Mortimer’s third Rumpole book (published in 1980 and based on a one-off TV special) sees a more insecure, downcast Rumpole who’s doubting his abilities after a string of failed cases. It’s interesting to see him failing to adjust to retired life in Miami and the saddest parts are when he fails to understand Nick’s desire to try and get closer to him. I didn’t believe in his idealism during the pornography case, especially when he’s given such an obvious way to win and the religious cult is overegged, but I loved his boyish glee at wanting to get stuck into the Simpson case and the Machiavellian way he manipulates the ego of his colleagues in Chambers. Ultimately, this was another entertaining read and I will definitely be checking out the other books.
The best parts of the book revolve around Rumpole’s breeziness and the slick way he imposes himself on everyone. Although Rumpole deludes himself as to what is best for Hilda and Nick, he’s honest about his love of the court and it’s clear that it is a drug for him. I also loved the way Phillida defends him against the plotters, even when it’s not in her best interest to do so.
The Verdict:
John Mortimer’s third Rumpole book (published in 1980 and based on a one-off TV special) sees a more insecure, downcast Rumpole who’s doubting his abilities after a string of failed cases. It’s interesting to see him failing to adjust to retired life in Miami and the saddest parts are when he fails to understand Nick’s desire to try and get closer to him. I didn’t believe in his idealism during the pornography case, especially when he’s given such an obvious way to win and the religious cult is overegged, but I loved his boyish glee at wanting to get stuck into the Simpson case and the Machiavellian way he manipulates the ego of his colleagues in Chambers. Ultimately, this was another entertaining read and I will definitely be checking out the other books.
