Rumpole on Trial

by John Mortimer

Book Overview

The most beloved barrister ever to sway a jury--or savor a claret--is back on the case in this collection of seven new stories. In one story, our hero fends off the advances of a mysterious young woman seeking a barrister to defend her husband for a murder not yet committed.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670844594
• ISBN13: 9780670844593
• Release Date: November 1992
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 243 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

7 short, comedic, courtroom stories

This volume is a collection of 7 Rumpole short stories. Rumpole is a practicing lawyer in London created by ex-lawyer John Mortimer. This is a long-running series of books that are still being written. An excellent BBC series starring the late Leo McKern is also available. Rumpole has become a classic character and Mortimer's books are compared favorably with Wodehouse and other such geniuses of light fiction. This is the 9th book in chronological order, though Mortimer reintroduces the characters at the beginning of his stories so you can start anywhere. There are 3 omnibus editions which each contain 3 books of short stories. However, this book is not in the omnibus editions and must be purchased individually. Rumpole stories are comedic accounts of Rumpole's cases (he only works for the defense) interspersed with the foibles of his fellow lawyers. The other characters in the books, from judges to petty criminals are wonderfully drawn. I have re-read this book several times. The part that most appeals to me is how Rumpole functions in a world that seems almost insanely bent on any pursuit but justice. The stories often comment on modern malaise and various hot-button issues from immigration to assaults on civil liberties. My favorite story in this collection is "Rumpole and the Children of the Devil", where a busybody social worker tries to take away a child who played dress-up with a mask and turned this into devil worship. Like most Rumpole stories, this story comments on current trends like government miscues regarding child welfare. Highly recommended.

I never thought anyone could make me forget Leo McKern

and, frankly, Timothy West falls just short. But considering that every drawing of Rumpole is a drawing of Mr. McKern, that he was so closely identified with the character that when he read the stories they were read "by Rumpole himself" for another reader to successfully render Rumpole was a pleasant surprise for me.Since at least the second recording of this series uses a different actor I wonder about the quality but at least the first volume is a complete success with Mr. West's terrific reading making one (almost) forget the late "Rumpole".

An excellent reading by Timothy West

With the recent death of character actor Leo McKern, there will be a resurgence of interest in video editions of his wonderful "Rumpole of the Bailey" series so dear to the hearts of Mystery Theatre watchers on PBS. In fact, HBO is reissuing all of the tapes onto DVD format and they will be available starting in in the Fall of 2002. So it was with great pleasure that I saw listed in the Audio Partners catalogue of books on tape, "Rumpole on Trial" ((61267). The set holds 6 cassettes with a running time of 8 hours and 7 minutes. The reader is British actor Timothy West, whose voice is the next best thing to the gravel-throated chortle of McKern. Here he reads seven complete Rumpole tales: "Rumpole and the Children of Evil," "...the Eternal Triangle," "...the Miscarriage of Justice," "...the Family Pride," "...the Soothsayer," "...the Reform of Joby Jonson," and (to break the pattern) "Rumpole on Trial." All of these have been televised and all of them are a good deal of fun. John Mortimer's custom was to create around the case Rumpole is handling a framing plot that has thematic likenesses or is antithetical to the main plot. So, for instance, all the while Rumpole is worried about being disbarred, his draconian wife, Hilda ("She Who Must Be Obeyed" as he calls her) is plotting to have him made a judge. The army of minor characters are a joy in themselves. The pompous Head of Chambers "Soapy" Sam Ballard, the unhappily married clerk Henry, the pro-labor and pro-women barrister Liz Probert, the opera-loving snake in the grass Claude Erskine-Brown, the foot-in-his-mouth Guthrie Featherstone, and above all the (in)Justices Olliphant and Graves who love the prosecution and cannot see any humor in Rumpole's reminding them a trial should be fair. Timothy West does all the voices, of course, but does not try to emulate the women as other readers do on (say) the Jeeves tapes. That would have been an error, since the tales are always told first-person from Rumpole's point of view.For the most part, I think I clocked in about one good laugh per minute while listening to these tapes on long car trips; and I can highly recommend this set.

Rumpole's Role Reversal

In "Rumpole on Trial" Horace Rumpole experiences the legal system from a new perspective--that of a defendant. Accused of unethical conduct, he goes from attorney to client, and he faces the fight of his life to keep his license to practice law. But he doesn't fight. Can Miz Liz Probert save her uncooperative client?There are three "Rumpole Omnibuses" (Or is it Omnibi?), each of which contains three previously published Rumpole books. But Mortimer wrote ten Rumpole books. This book, "Rumpole on Trial" is the one which was left out of the "Omnibuses." If you like Rumpole (and who wouldn't), don't overlook this little gem.

Delightfully humorous Rupole at his best.

If you enjoy the judicial adventures of Rumpole, you will especially enjoy this set of cases. This time John Mortimer has given us a set of cases that subtly tickle our sense of humor. I've read some of the other Rumpole books, but this one had me chuckling through out the entire book. So, if you have enjoyed the television series, you will especially enjoy these cases. The case of Rumpole before the judiciary committee was presented on PBS. It is even better here in the written form.