The First Rumpole Omnibus

Here is where we are introduced to Rumpole, ever defender of the downtrodden criminal element, most successful of course when these minor villians have been wrongly accused, at least in the latest particular incident. As Rumpole said once during a defence, the English nation when it is long gone will be remembered for three things -- the English breakfast, the Oxford Book of English Verse (the Quiller-Couch Edition), and the presumption of innocence.

Even in the later story of Rumpole for the Prosecution, in which Rumpole is hired to conduct a private prosecution, he manages to provide through his searching for the truth the best defence for the defendant. Rumpole, it seems, will never be anything but the champion for the defence.

Mortimer is intimately familiar with the legal court setting about which he writes in the Rumpole series; judges such as Bullingham and Graves take their character from amalgamations of actual judges, and Mortimer once let it be known in a television interview that if he saw particular miscarriages of justice done, he would have no choice but to work it in to the plot of an upcoming Rumpole story.

One wonders if Hilda, Rumpole's wife, affectionately referred to as 'She Who Must Be Obeyed', is modeled on anyone specific in Mortimer's life. Other characters in chambers and in the dock seem very true to form, while also remaining interesting exaggerations of real persons. One might ask for a bit more character development in some, but largely, they serve their purpose as bit players on the stage.

So, sit back with your favourite glass of red wine (Chateau Fleet Street comes highly recommended) and wander into a London which is a blend of the thoroughly modern and practically medieval.


No need to defend Rumpole   October 12, 2004
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Anyone who has taken the time to read John Mortimer's Rumpole stories will know that the author writes as a man of considerable experience of law and never fails to deliver where the great defender is concerned. Rumpole is always worth a read. Superb stuff.


Mortmer created Rumpole , a man with his own mind .....   April 25, 2000
kasinje@yahoo.com (Sheffield, England)
9 out of 14 found this review helpful

Rumpole, the main character, is a man with his own mind about the purpose of criminal justice and the role of the actors in it, be it criminals and laywers or judges and juries.Mortimer takes one through the daily life of Rumpole from his Froxbury "Mansion" and She Who Must Be Obeyed to 3 Equity Chambers where he is a constant source of irritation and anxiety to successive heads and an occassional savoiur , from the Old Bailey where Rumpole exchanges "pleasantries" with the Mad Bull before crowning it all with a "Chateau Lafite" at Pommeroy's Wine Bar.... I would readily recomend it to anyone with an eye for legal humour....