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The Trials Of Rumpole by John Mortimer
Jul. 20th, 2014 11:20 pmThe 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.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
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.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
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.
