Customer Reviews (1)

Delightful autobiography of Leo Mckern
Leo McKern, the star of the "Rumpole of the Bailey" series, writes about his childhood, life, and career in this 1983 book.Although he professes to be quite unlike Rumpole, his wit and charm are clearly evident.His reminiscences of working with theater greats such as Sir Laurence Olivier are fascinating and give the reader insight into the inner workings of theater, television, and movies in the twentieth century. ... Read more

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Chapters: Leo Mckern, Robert Askin, Clive James, Charles Kingsford Smith, Graham Richardson, Reg Gasnier, John Konrads, Bruce Mcdonald, Stephen Wooldridge, Laurie Patton, Leonardo Nam, Imants Tillers, Cecil Abbott, Alex Dimitriades, Mike Tomalaris, Patrick Matthews, Les Gock, Francis Oag Hulme-Moir, Stephen Loosley, Clinton Wallace Free. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 93. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Unreliable Memoirs Clive James AM (born Vivian James, on 7 October 1939 in Kogarah, New South Wales) is an expatriate Australian critic, novelist, TV presenter, poet and essayist. James was born in Sydney, Australia. He was allowed to change his name as a child because "after Vivien Leigh played Scarlett O'Hara the name became irrevocably a girl's name no matter how you spelled it". His father was taken prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War, and although he survived the POW camp, he died when the plane returning him to Australia crashed in Taiwan, and he was buried in Hong Kong. James, who was an only child, was brought up by his mother in the Sydney suburb of Kogarah. An IQ test taken in childhood put his IQ at 140. He was educated at Sydney Technical High School (despite winning a bursary to Sydney Boys High School) and the University of Sydney, where he studied psychology and became associated with the Sydney Push, a libertarian, intellectual sub-culture. At the university he edited the student newspaper Honi Soit and directed the annual Union Revue. After graduating, James worked for a year as an assistant editor for The Sydney Morning Herald. In early 1962, James moved to England, where he has now made his home. During his first three years spent in London he shared a flat with the Australian film director Bruce Beresford (disguised as Dave Dalziel in the firs...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=445291 ... Read more

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7" x 10.5"; 12 pages including the cover.One page features Malcolm Pride's costume designs. ... Read more

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Chapters: Leo Mckern, Cate Blanchett, Peter Finch, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Jackman, Jon English, F. Matthias Alexander, Miranda Otto, Rose Byrne, Bert Newton, Robert Helpmann, Judith Anderson, Andrew Hansen, Reg Livermore, David Knijnenburg, Nellie Stewart, Bud Tingwell, Michael Blakemore, Lisa Mccune, Madeleine Orr, Lulu Pinkus, Dennis Olsen, David Wenham, Gary Files, Guy Pearce, Fay Kelton, Ned Manning, Matthew Newton, Stuart Wagstaff, Roy Rene, Lloyd Lamble, Elizabeth Alexander, Drew Anthony, Monica Maughan, Jason Gardiner, Liz Harris, Ian Turpie, Sigrid Thornton, Barry Creyton, Garry Mcdonald, Bryan Brown, Rowena Wallace, Frank Harvey, Jonathan Hyde, Craig Mclachlan, Trisha Noble, Robyn Archer, Bethany Lee, Vince Colosimo, Mae Busch, Kym Gyngell, George Selth Coppin, Jude Kuring, Gustavus Vaughan Brooke, Tom Oliver, Nadine Garner, Aimee Horne, Justine Clarke, Richard Walley, Jacqueline Mckenzie, Keith Michell, Robyn Nevin, Clarissa Kaye, June Bronhill, Bille Brown, Thelma Scott, Elizabeth Sharland, Georgie Parker, Deidre Rubenstein, Coral Browne, Zoe Caldwell, Anna Skellern, Philip Quast, Barry Crocker, Toby Schmitz, Catherine Mcclements, Genevieve O'reilly, John Bluthal, Ruth Cracknell, Freya Stafford, Barry Sullivan, Mary Ward, Melanie Parry, Adam Garcia, Marc Mcdermott, Jacki Weaver, Leeanna Walsman, John Mccallum, John Wood, Nicholas Gledhill, Xavier Samuel, Gordon Chater, Barbara Angell, Noel Ferrier, Amanda Harrison, Toni Lamond, Simon Burke, Caroline O'connor, Robert Greig, Alan Edwards, Mark Priestley, Paul Bishop, Jaason Simmons, Louise Van Veenendaal, John Bell, Gregan Mcmahon, Bettina Welch, Brett Budgeon, Marie Lohr, Amanda Muggleton, Ross Skiffington, Martin Crewes, Dion Boucicault, Jr., Helen Dallimore, Kym Valentine, Maggie Moore, Barry Quin, Ron Haddrick, Lech Mackiewicz, Justin Truloff, Scott Mcgregor, Jesse Rosenfeld, John Stanton, Lindy Davies, Richard Grieve, Geoff Morrell, George Sutton Tit...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=160126 ... Read more

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Chapters: Michael Hutchence, Kylie Minogue, Tina Arena, Errol Flynn, Leo Mckern, Dannii Minogue, Nick Cave, Rolf Harris, John Pilger, Germaine Greer, Barry Humphries, Robert Stigwood, Patrick Kisnorbo, Natalie Imbruglia, Clive James, Mark Viduka, Lucas Neill, Jason Donovan, Gabriella Cilmi, Australian Pink Floyd Show, Elle Macpherson, Scott Mcdonald, Robert Helpmann, Pat Cash, Craig Johnston, Gina G, Sidney Nolan, Sammy Woods, Naomi Robson, Peter Allen, Michael Blakemore, Madeleine Orr, Ron Mueck, Alan Freeman, Rob Swire, Elisabeth Murdoch, Dante Arthurs, Stuart Law, Peter Porter, Arthur Boyd, Dale Tryon, Baroness Tryon, Ahmad Elrich, Geoffrey Robertson, Alan Moorehead, David Mitchell, Curtis Stone, Julia Morris, Craig Revel Horwood, Henry Handel Richardson, John Filan, Ben O'donoghue, Bill Alley, Mig Ayesa, Daryl E. Hooper, Miriam Allan, Amanda Platell, Jane Allsop, Jay Hunt, Sally Boyden, Natalie Mendoza, Madeleine St John, Nikki Gemmell, Danny Alder, Raja Ram, Kathy Lette, Dick Bentley, Leslie Boyce, John Zdrunca, Peter Donnelly, Tamara Mckinley, Amy Mizzi, Jim Mcgrath, Oxford University Australian Rules Football Club, Ben Ellis, Vernon Knowles, Theodore Thomson Flynn, Rocky Visconte, David Balding, Robert Griffiths. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 508. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE (born 28 May 1968) is an Australian pop singer, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987. Her first single, "Locomotion", spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart and became the highest selling single of the decade. This led to a contract with songwriters an...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=16894 ... Read more

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Horace Rumpole, who has survived nearly 50 years at the bar reveals more of the immortal moments of his life at the Old Bailey. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Even better to hear than to read it.
I absolutely love the Rumpole stories, but I really enjoyed these audio tapes.For one thing Leo McKern is wonderful as Rumpole, and he is even good at doing voices for other characters as he does in these tapes.These tapes cover two stories that I've read before - "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting" and "Rumpole and the Old, Old, Story".Both are hilariously funny, and McKern brings the old curmudgeon to life.For those who don't want to take the time to read these truly wonderful stories, then listening to Leo McKern on tape is a wonderful way to introuduce yourself to the guilty pleasure of old Rumpole.

Rumpole Reads Rumpole
John Mortimer wrote the Rumpole screenplays for Leo McKern, who portrays the portly barrister on the BBC TV series.On this audiotape, McKern reads two short stories from "Rumpole's Last Case."The chosen stories are "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting" and "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story."

In "Blind Tasting" Rumpole gets invited to an elegant blind tasting.As I understand it from the story, a blind tasting is a gathering at which a bunch of egotists gather to taste wine, guess what type the wine is, and otherwise attempt to impress each other with their erudition and sophistication.Being used to nothing better that Chateau Thames Embankment, Rumpole becomes an enthusiastic but unorthodox participant in the tasting.The tasting leads to a case, and the case leads Rumpole to uncover some lowbrow goings-on in the highbrow world of fine wines.

In "The Old, Old Story," Rumpole embarrasses She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.She harasses Rumpole, and Rumpole leaves home.While the course of love runs not so true at Casa Rumpole, Horace gets an out-of-town case defending the odd man out in a lover's triangle.Things are looking rather bleak for the client, and Rumpole is not encouraged when he enters court for the first day of the trial and finds She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed sitting on the bench as a guest of the presiding judge.With his wife's help, Rumpole finds his way through to a fabulous victory, and nobody lives happily ever after.

Leo McKern was born to play Rumpole on the stage, and he gives it his all as he reads the stories, but an audiotaped reading is not the best way to enjoy any form of literature.If it is impossible to read the stories or watch McKern on video, this tape will slake your thirst for Rumpole. ... Read more

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A collection of Rumpole stories, by the barrister, novelist, screenwriter and dramatist, John Mortimer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

More of the legendary Rumpole of the Bailey!
I for one can't get enough Rumpole in my diet.I look forward to each and every story in this wonderful series.This particular book consists of six short stories.They are all very good, and exceedingly funny, but I always have to pick a favourite, and I think "Rumpole at Sea" was the best in this collection.These stories are so totally wonderful, and Rumpole is so real that you will think that you know him as you read of his exploits.I laugh out loud many times during the course of reading each collection of stories.My hat comes off to Mortimer because of his formidable writing talents.I am glad I have more Rumpole to read.

Only mildly amusing...
I've never seen the TV version of RUMPOLE, so when
my local library had the cassette version of RUMPOLE A LA CARTE
by John Mortimer, I grabbed hold of it to see what all the excitement was about.

A LA CARTE features six short stories about Horrace Rumpole,
an eccentric British barrister . . . they were mildly amusing, but none of them leaves me wanting to listen to more and/or go
out of my way to view the program when next on the tube.

Leo McKern's narration, however, was excellent.

Dull and Predictable Stories
Despite the fact that I generally enjoy comic British writing, and have on occasion watched the TV version of Rumpole with amusement, I found this collection of short Rumpole stories rather tedious. Having never read any of the extensive Rumpole series, I figured this collection of six stories would be a good place to test the waters. What I found was a series of predictable tales, populated by thin characters that offer little variety in their foibles from story to story. And while you could make the same case for P.G. Wodehouse's creations, the difference is that he had the Midas touch when it came to language and wit, whereas Mortimer's prose is generally uninspired. After a while, the curmudgeonly grumblings of Rumpole get rather old, as does the sharp tongue of his wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed), the pathetic philandering Erskine Brown, and the doddering foolishness of Uncle Tom. While the cut and thrust of the courtroom scenes do impart a sense of vigor and wit to the proceedings, they are the only bright lights in what are otherwise remarkably dull and predictable stories. Perhaps lawyers find Mortimer's prose remarkable, I, on the other hand, do not.

Review of Rumpole A La Carte
This is a really funny story, well told by Leo McKern, who IS Rumpole. (There are other Rumpole readers, but his is the best, even if you never saw his tv version) For Rumpole of the Bailey fans, you have all the usual cast, She Who Must Be Obeyed, Erskine Brown cheating on Portia, Uncle Tom, and Soapy Sam Ballard, head of Chambers. Lots of fun and really a pleasure to listen to.Couldn't even tell it was abridged. I'm a lawyer and I listen to mine evey fun months to get recharged ... Read more

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Is the vicar a thief? It doesn't matter, the facts can't be used. Luckily, Rumpole's got other ways to sway a jury. Meanwhile, an old friend's fiancee is looking suspiciously familiar. But from where? Once more, John Mortimer lets Rumpole maintain his hilariously cynical commentary throughout ceaseless smoking, drinking and uncommon lawyering. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Marriage: "like pleading guilty without chance of parole."
Horace Rumpole, an English barrister known for his acerbic wit, his iconoclastic religious views, his straight talk, and his deference to his wife, "she who must be obeyed," is called upon to defend Rev. Mordred Skinner, a vicar accused of stealing six shirts from the haberdashery department of a local store.As one might expect, the meetings between Rumpole and his client are filled with wry humor, as Rumpole, seriously committed to defending his client while aware of the ironies of the case, shows his willingness to use every trick of the trade on behalf of his client.

With this case disposed of early in the story, author John Mortimer continues his focus on character, as Rumpole and his wife Hilda ("she who must be obeyed") entertain a fellow barrister, George Frobisher and his ditsy prospective bride, Mrs. Ida Tempest.Hilda's restrained sarcasm in the face of this clearly inappropriate bride, combined with Rumpole's attempts to keep the dinner from becoming too filled with little cooings from the lovebirds, make this scene and its aftermath a Mortimer classic.

The acting on this audiotape is outstanding, with Leo McKern personifying Rumpole, giving him just the right balance of dry wit and muted cynicism.As Rumpole revises famous quotations from Browning and other poets to illustrate his feelings, McKern's phrasing and perfect sense of pacing provide great humor and much amusement.Mortimer, an attorney himself, brings the British legal profession to life as Rumpole deals with crotchety judges, self-important fellow attorneys, and those who refuse to acknowledge that the law is supposed to bring about justice, not simply resolve cases.Filled with great characters and McKern's equally great acting, this audiotape will delight its listeners. n Mary Whipple

If you love Rumpole, you'll love this!
Nobody reads Rumpole like Leo McKern!I love John Mortimer's Rumpole andthis tape was great.Even though the fun of Rumpole is in the writing andthe play on words, Leo McKern makes Rumpole come alive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rumpole Rubs It In
Guthrie Featherstone, a red judge and former member of Rumpole's chambers, acquires a case of tennis elbow and visits a massage parlor for some deep rubbing therapy.Massages aren't the only thing sold at the parlor, but Featherstone is oblivious to the other goings on.He gets only a massage and then pays with a credit card.

When Rumpole undertakes to defend the owner of a chain of massage parlors/bawdy houses, he learns of Featherstone's visit.Featherstone learns the true nature of the place he visited, and Rumpole contrives to get Featherstone selected as the judge to hear the bawdy house case.Featherstone has visions of disgrace and divorce dancing in his head, and Rumpole does nothing to allay his fears.The denouement is quite entertaining.

Leo McKern does a rousing good job of reading the text of the short story. ... Read more

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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. ... Read more

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Unbowed by nearly 50 years knocking around the hollowed courts of justice, the icy winds blowing from "she who must be obeyed", an overdraft bursting at the seams and overindulgence in Fleet Street, Horace Rumpole features in these seven stories about life in court. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

What more can I say about the Old Bailey Hack?
Reading Rumpole stories is one of the most enjoyable things that I've ever done.And this book is no different.It contains seven stories about the loveable old curmudgeon and his dealings down at the Old Bailey.It's sometimes hard to remember just how bright old Rumpole is, but these stories outlined that very clearly.The story "Rumpole and the Official Secret"really points this out when Rumpole runs up against someone who works in the defense department and who is giving secrets to the press.The snitch tries to turn attention away from himself, but Rumpole sees right through it.But my favourite story was "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow".I must admit that I laughed out loud repeatedly when I read this wonderful tale.You need to read these tales too.They are incredibly funny and warm, and you too will learn to love Rumpole.

Entertaining, as always
Despite the title, this isn't so very far along in the series and in fact features the introduction of the very politically correct "Ms. Liz Probert." The cases are the usual set, and Rumpole faces his usual trials and tribulations, most notably from a new member of chambers who wants to make everything much more efficient. The eponymous tale is one we've seen dramatized, where Rumpole has great success betting on a "four-horse accumulator," tells a judge exactly what he thinks of him, and is (of course) frustrated when his go-between leaves the country with his winnings.

Entertaining, as always.

Rumpole Thinks of Retirement
Rumpole has an assortment of foes in this collection of 7 stories: Judge Bullingham, his Head of Chambers Sam Ballard, dishonest prosecution witnesses, police officers, prosecuting barristers, and even the barrister defending his client's co-defendant in a case of armed robbery where a bank guard was wounded.No wonder he thinks of winning a fortune betting on horse races and moving to Spain in the last story, "Rumpole's Last Case". You should enjoy reading this book to find out how many cases Rumpole wins and if he really retires. ... Read more

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Does Rumpole decide that life away from the Old Bailey isn't all it's crackedup to be? 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

"Sunlight to children of sun, blood to children of dark."
(3.5 stars for novel, 4.5 for acting) Living in "retirement" in Miami, Florida, where their son Nick is head of the sociology department at the university, the irascible Horace Rumpole and his wife Hilda ("She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed") are enjoying the warm winter weather and sunlight. When Tiffany Jones, a young professor at the university, disappears. Simultaneously, Rumpole reads in a London newspaper, sent by friends, that a struggling young accountant has been arrested for the gory murder of a wealthy aristocrat in a London "tube" station. A message written in blood is found beside his body.

Rumpole cannot resist the lure of returning to London to work on this "blood" case, and Hilda soon joins him, but he discovers that his desk in chambers is now occupied by Ken Cracknell, an overconfident young man with no experience defending a murder case. It is Ken who will defend Simpson, the accountant, but he agrees to let Rumpole work as his "assistant" in this sensational murder investigation. The two locations--Florida, where Tiffany has disappeared, and London, where Simpson has been arrested and charged with murder--come together the discovery of a cult, Children of the Sun.

Written in 1982, this mystery is a product of its times, a time when "Moonies" were dominating the news, and the novel's "surprises" are not very surprising when seen from the contemporary vantage point. Side plots involving Rumpole's history with Judge Bullingham, his possible representation of the aggrieved wife of a philandering barrister, the romantic dalliances of Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown with other members of Chambers, and the arrival of his son Nick fill out the novel.

Author John Mortimer has written the Rumpole novels out of chronological sequence and this early novel (in which Rumpole comes out of "retirement") feels flat and unfocused, as if Mortimer were trying to figure out where to go with it--and with Rumpole and Hilda. The reasons for Rumpole's presumed "retirement" seem inconsistent with his enormous arrogance and ego, and are hard to swallow for the devoted Rumpole reader. With its unusually large number of distractions, this novel is one of Rumpole's less organized adventures. Dramatically narrated and well interpreted by Patrick Tull, this audio version is livelier than the novel and considerably more fun, though the novel's problems remain. nMary Whipple

Rumpole and the Angel of Death
Felix in the Underworld
Murderers and Other Friends
The Summer of a Dormouse

"Sunlight to children of sun, blood to children of dark."
(3.5 stars) Living in "retirement" in Miami, Florida, where their son Nick is head of the sociology department at the university, the irascible Horace Rumpole and his wife Hilda ("She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed") are enjoying the warm winter weather and sunlight. When Tiffany Jones, a young professor at the university, disappears, shortly after she has flirted with Rumpole at a party, he is as perturbed as are her many friends. Simultaneously, Rumpole reads in a London newspaper, sent by friends, that a struggling young accountant has been arrested for the gory murder of a wealthy aristocrat in a London "tube" station. A message written in blood is found beside his body.

Rumpole cannot resist the lure of returning to London to work on this "blood" case, and Hilda soon joins him, but he discovers that his desk in chambers is now occupied by Ken Cracknell, an overconfident young man with no experience defending a murder case. It is Ken who will defend Simpson, the accountant, but he agrees to let Rumpole work as his "assistant" in this sensational murder investigation. The two locations--Florida, where Tiffany has disappeared, and London, where Simpson has been arrested and charged with murder--come together when Tiffany and Simpson both prove to have been interested in a cult, Children of the Sun.

Written in 1982, this mystery is a product of its times, a time when "Moonies" were dominating the news, and the novel's "surprises" are not very surprising when seen from the contemporary vantage point. Side plots involving Rumpole's history with Judge Bullingham, his possible representation of the aggrieved wife of a philandering barrister, the romantic dalliances of Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown with other members of Chambers, and the arrival of his son Nick, which leads to his helping Rumpole on the Simpson case, fill out the novel.

Author John Mortimer has written the Rumpole novels out of chronological sequence re Rumpole's career, so it is disconcerting to have Rumpole coming out of retirement at an early point in what becomes a long sequence of Rumpole novels and stories. This novel feels flat and unfocused, as if Mortimer were trying to figure out where to go with it--and with Rumpole and Hilda--at this early stage in the Rumpole series. Rumpole's presumed "retirement" because of his lack of confidence after losing ten cases in a row seems inconsistent with his enormous arrogance and ego, and is hard to swallow for the reader. With its unusually large number of distractions, this novel is one of Rumpole's less organized adventures. n Mary Whipple

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders
Rumpole Misbehaves: A Novel (Rumpole Novels)
Murderers and Other Friends
Murderers and Other Friends

Please, Please read this series!
I can't believe that I'm the first person to review this book.I hope that people read my review and take the time to read John Mortiomer's excellent series.This is one of the few novels in the long-ruinning Rumpole series, and it's a good one.Most of the time the stories are in short story format, and those are excellent as well.In this book Rumpole has ostensibly retired to live in Florida, but the sun and fun do not interest him.He wants to be back fighting cases at the Old Bailey in England, and when he spies a news story about a murder in good old "Jolly Old"he has to go back.Leaving She Who Must be Obeyed behind, he hops a plane and returns.These books are hilariously funny, and as I read I can't help but picture Leo McKern who played such a truly wonderful HoraceRumpole in the BBC series.If you love English humour, and smashing good mysteries please read these books. ... Read more

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Leo McKern reads three stories from John Mortimer's best-selling novel about the life & trials of Horace Rumpole, barrister at law, who is famous for his expert knowledge of bloodstains, blood groups & forgery by typewriter, His irreverent & witty observations on his learned profession have delighted countless readers & viewers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Enjoyed the book, like the television series better
First Sentence:I, Horace Rumpole, barrister at law, 68 next birthday, Old Bailey Hack, husband to Mrs. Hilda Rumpole (known to me only as She Who Must Be Obeyed) and father to Nicholas Rumpole (lecturer in social studies at the University of Baltimore, I have always been extremely proud of Nick); I, who have a mind full of old murders, legal anecdotes and memorable fragments of old murders, legal anecdotes and memorable fragments of the Oxford book of English Verse...

This first book in the Rumpole series introduces the barrister, his wife, Hilda, and three of his cases.

Rumpole is the consummate English character; he's lord of his courtroom but serf to his wife in his home.The sobriquet of "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is amusing the first couple references but wears thin quickly, although it suits the character.However, I enjoyed the character and the supporting characters around him.I thoroughly enjoyed his penchant for quotations, particularly those of Wordsworth. The stories were entertaining.I like British humor.The hardest part for me is that they were short stories, of which I'm not a particular fan, so there's less character development, arc and dimension.I enjoyed the book, but I actually like the television series better.

The splendours and miseries of an old Bailey hack!
In "Rumpole of the Bailey", John Mortimer has served up a veritable smorgasbord of short snappy tales that are the very best that British courtroom humour has to offer. Whether it's criminal trials in the old Bailey or civil trials in Chancery division, Horace Rumpole takes on all comers with a trademarked irreverent disdain for the sanctity of the law, the court, the judiciary and his learned colleagues at the bar. But, make no mistake, Rumpole's disarming attitude and appearance mask a razor sharp legal mind able to cut directly to the heart of the matter and an ability to draw on brutally cunning legal tactics which, for many American readers, will be reminiscent of the television detective, Columbo.

Whether Rumpole is in court or lighting up a cigar and quaffing a glass of Chateau Fleet Street at his favourite after-hours haunt, Pommeroy's Wine Bar, Rumpole is accompanied by an endearing supporting cast that is an integral part of the amusing, indeed often hilarious stories that Mortimer has produced - Guthrie Featherstone QC MP, the stiffly starched and prissy (yet often philandering) head of chambers; Claude Erskine-Brown, the slightly looser barrister who is head over heels in love with the only female member of chambers, the eloquent and deeply feminist Phillida Trant; Rumpole's wife, Hilda, the imposing "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed"; and Percy Timson, the patriarch of a widespread London family of low-level criminals whose bumbling failures are destined to keep Rumpole supplied with a steady stream of defense briefs for as long as he cares to work.

Hilarious brain candy guaranteed to take you away from the worries of the workaday world for a blissful all-too-short few hours. Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

Not Free SF Reader
An amusing book, with the unlikely hero, if you want to call it that, of Rumpole, a pretty ordinary looking lawyer, toiling away at his job of defending clients, putting up with his wife, his co-workers, and all that sort of thing.

However, he does tend to stick up the underdog and try and look into things that don't seem right.

Thank Heavens We Have Rumpole!
All is right with our world if we have Rumpole adventures to enjoy.This book is the first in a long line of books written by a great comedic author (John Mortimer).This little book contains six different adventures that are a pure delight to enjoy.There is no fictional character like the curmudgeonly Horace Rumpole.This book won't take long to read, but I promise that you will laugh out loud numerous times as we follow Rumpolethe barrister-in-law as he deals with a robbery, a drug-peddling affair at a commune, a rape, a divorce, a safe-cracking case and a nice little murder.I can't wait to read more.

Rumpole v She Who Must Be Obeyed
The first title in the popular series by John Mortimer has Rumpole, the claret swigging, small cigar smoking barrister, facing off against the prosecution in six adventures. This may well be the funniest book that I have ever read. Mortimer is an excellent writer, with a real knack for character development, irony, and hilarious dialogue.

Rumpole is a somewhat broken down defender of criminals, in his 68th year of life and ruled by the iconic wife, "She Who Must Be Obeyed."Rumpole made something of a reputation, more than 30 years ago, as an expert in blood, fingerprints, and typewriters, by winning a few long-forgotten cases in the Old Bailey criminal court.

Now he is passed over for head of chambers and treated as a junior by other barristers with no interest in criminal cases. Crime is considered out of fashion in chambers, as those with an interest in civil cases and standing for parliament are moving ahead quickly.

In fact, Rumpole is not a particularly good attorney, by my count, he loses the majority of his chances.

However, he never fails to be extremely entertaining. In one case, after being relegated to the sidelines by an inept leader, he tries to distract the jury from the colleague's incompetence by the noisy application of flu remedies. Of course, he continues to entertain with the endless application of poetry, especially Keats, to all situations, including those of profound solemnity.

When accused unfairly of malfeasance and threatened with suspension, he indicates to all with great seriousness that his strategy and plan of attack is to trade in his current profession for a new one, growing vegetables behind a subway station. His only true confidante, his son, ultimately leaves London for a wife and job in America, leaving Rumpole to manage as best he can, fortifying himself with claret and small cigars, for the ride home each night.
... Read more

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A new collection of mystery tales featuring Horace Rumpole follows the irrepressible barrister as he takes on the dark forces of evil and injustice in the British legal system. Read by Leo McKern. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Six more wonderful stories.
Rumpole and the Angel of Death is a worthy addition to the wonderful Rumpole series.For one thing we get to see a story from "She Who Must Be Obeyed's" perspective in the story called "Hilda's Story", and we see why this couple has remained strong together for 47 years.Each of these stories is wonderful in it's own right, but I enjoyed the short story "Rumpole and the Angel of Death" the most.Rumpole is totaly endearing, and we still see the old spirit where he won't sit still and stand for something if it's something he doesn't believe in.He is also not deterred from extraneous personalities and lies in his search for the truth.He has a habit of being able to get to the nut of every matter, and lay everyone's subterfuge away, so that the truth will out.Thank heaven I still have a few Rumpole stories left to read.

"I've never thought that those who were entirely sane would undertake the thankless task of judging their fellow human beings."
Always wary of pompous judges, "their assembled lordships who like nothing less than being judged themselves," British barrister Horace Rumpole faces off against them once again, defending six new clients in this 1995 collection of stories, the author's first collection to have been written as short stories and not as adaptations of his TV scripts.Here many familiar characters continue, though their roles are much reduced in scale, compared to author John Mortimer's longer novels.The biggest and most pleasant surprise is that Rumpole's cantankerous wife Hilda, long a fixture known as "She Who Must Be Obeyed," has written her own story here, her recognizable "voice" describing her marriage and giving a new slant to our views of Rumpole.

Other stories in this collection include:"Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods," in which Rumpole deals with animal rights and foxhunting;"Rumpole and The Little Boy Lost," in which he defends a "kidnapper";"Rumpole and the Model Prisoner," in which he deals with a feminist who wants revenge on a fellow barrister for calling her "fat";"Rumpole and the Rights of Man," which takes him abroad to the European Court of Human Rights"; and "Rumpole and the Angel of Death," in which he defends an unabashed proponent of euthanasia who is accused of murdering Rumpole's old friend, "Judge Chippy."

In each of these stories, author Mortimer treats a contemporary issue with the seriousness it deserves.At the same time, however, he uses his trademark wit and ascerbic humor to put these issues into perspective and keep the major characters from taking themselves too seriously.Because the plots are not complex and tend to follow familiar patterns, there are few surprises, and the stories and Rumpole himself feel familiar and "comfy."

Those who are already fans of Rumpole will love these stories, as they show Rumpole continuing his assault on hypocrisy, using the legal system and his own insights to see that justice prevails, engaging in the marital tug of war with Hilda, and enjoying his cigars, his claret, and the good fellowship of his friends.Those new to Rumpole may prefer to start by reading one of the Rumpole novels or listening to one of the full-length audiotapes instead.The additional length allows author Mortimer to develop the characters in greater depth and to highlight the humor and absurdity of some of the plots. n Mary Whipple

The usual vintage, with an extra sparkle
Mortimer's 1996 collection of six Horace Rumpole stories, delivers the expected treat, with one special departure. Recounted with his usual consumate dry wit, Rumpole's solutions to murder and social mayhem in his legal chambers and at home dovetail cleverly.

But this time there's one unusual addition ? "Hilda's Story" is narrated by She Who Must Be Obeyed, giving her own take on marriage and proving a great help to a more than usually beleagured Rumpole.

She who must ... writes.
Sit down with a glass of Pomeroy's finest wine and settle in for a good read.Rumpole continues his battles with Judges, avoiding Chamber politics (and efficiency experts) saving Claude Eskine Brown from his failed romances, and staying in the good graces of "She who must be obeyed".Hilda gets her say in this book too, as her letter to Dodo Mackintosh details on of the cases and even she says "he was a man in his element" in the courtroom. Indeed!May Rumpole always avoid the Angel of Death!

Worthy addition to the Rumpole saga
In this latest--is it the last?--addition to the Rumpole saga, She Who Must Be Obeyed lifts a pen and the result is "Hilda's Story", an engaging piece that shows that Mortimer is still coming up with new andentertaining angles on Rumpole.The only sour note is that "Angel ofDeath" rounded out the third 'Rumpole' omnibus, and the devotee fearsthat this could be the last.If it is, it's also one of the best. ... Read more

Product Description
A Horace Rumpole Novel. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Product Description
A heart-rending story of human fortitude set in the jungles of Malaya during the Japanese occupation, where a group of European women and children struggle to survive on a forced march. After the war, in Australia, Jean and Joe dream of surmounting the past and transforming his one-horse outback town into a thriving community like Alice Springs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (89)

A town like Alice
Delivered to me in good time.Nevil Shute has done better.


I have difficulty reading this very small print!

A story to create love
This is one of the most beautiful and most real stories I have ever read in 77 years. It portrays the best and the worst of human behavior by telling the story of how the best faced the worst in WWII, a woman and a man to teach us all how to live our lives.

Some bonzer story-telling!
A TOWN LIKE ALICE, one of the most moving novels that I've ever had the privilege of reading, actually takes place in three connected segments.

As the story opens, Noel Strachan, an elderly London lawyer from Chancery Lane, engaged as executor for the will of a recently deceased bachelor client, finds himself in the position of becoming the trustee for the sole beneficiary who, under the terms of a carefully crafted will, cannot inherit the capital of a sizable estate until she turns 35. Strachan comes to know his new and now quite wealthy client, Jean Paget, an ostensibly typical 20-something young lady working as a typist for a leather goods manufacturer, as she tells the story of her experience in Malaya during the closing days of WW II six years earlier. Although he won't admit it to himself and outright denies it to his colleagues, Strachan falls in love with Paget despite their enormous difference in age as she tells the story of her shocking past.

In the second part of Shute's story, Paget picks up the narrative thread telling Strachan the horrific, heart-rending story of how she and a large group of married women were forced to walk across hundreds of miles of hot, malaria-infested Malayan territory by their Japanese captors enduring dysentery, cholera, hunger and, of course, simple exhaustion. During this gruesome death march, the ladies meet Joe Harman, a kindly Australian stockman, also captured by the Japanese who is driving a supply truck for the Japanese wartime railway construction program. When he steals some chickens from a Japanese officer to give to the ladies for food, he is captured, tortured, crucified and left to die hanging from his nailed hands on a tree trunk.

It is several years later that Paget, thinking Harman had succumbed to his torture in Malaya, and Harman, thinking that Paget, like all of her companions, was a married woman with a baby, discover that they were both wrong. The final segment of Shute's extraordinary tale of warmth, love and self-fulfilment closes as any reader would hope with them finding one another and establishing a new life and, indeed, a new community in post-war Australia, not too far from Alice Springs.

While A TOWN LIKE ALICE is unquestionably a put-a-smile-on-your-face, make-you-say-aaaah romantic tale, it is certainly not chick lit by any means. It's an imaginative, moving tale which touches on the themes of wartime atrocity, courage in the face of adversity and the difficulties and opportunities involved with the construction of a pioneering community. The simple fact of the prejudiced treatment of the aboriginal people of Australian at that time is included in a sad, ironic, rather matter of fact way without comment or criticism. Although Jean Paget, as an enlightened forward thinker, is shown as wishing that it might be otherwise, she acts as she is expected to according to the norms of the day.

Drama, suspense, romance and superb story-telling! Would I recommend it to a potential reader? Oh my word, yes! Too right! I'm not sure exactly where I'd rank it but I am quite certain I'd add it to my list of best lifetime novels. Yes, it's THAT good.

Paul Weiss

I couldn't put it down...
I received my book yesterday (in an excellent condition by the way) and I find myself today writing this review... It is really such a beautiful and captivating story that I couldn't put the book down. It is easy to read and from the very first pages I was already in love with the characters. I can honestly say that it is one of the best books I've read and I would recommend it to everyone looking for a sweet love story about war and courage.

A Town Like Alice
I don't know what type of review you want, but the book I received was not in 'very good' condition which is what I ordered.I also believe I was charged for a more expensive edition that what I ordered.I was very, very displeased with this order. ... Read more