Book Description
The comic, courageous, and corpulent Horace Rumpole reenters the fray in these seven fresh and funny stories in which the "great defender of muddled and sinful humanity" triumphs over the forces of prejudice and mean-mindedness while he tiptoes precariously through the domestic territory of his wife, Hilda-She Who Must Be Obeyed! With his passion for poetry, and a nose equally sensitive to the whiff of wrongdoing and the bouquet of a Château Thames Embankment, the lovable and disheveled Rumpole "is at his rumpled best" (The New York Times).
Customer Reviews:
No rest for the wicked.......2007-04-22
John Mortimer wrote RUMPOLE RESTS HIS CASE after a hiatus of six years away from Rumpole stories. Taking into account the television scripts and the short story collections, Mortimer has been writing about this character since the late 1970s. And the one thing fans and detractors would have to agree on is that he is utterly consistent. Rumpole is the same charismatic, charming character. The plots turn on the same style of points of law, helpful coincidences and plonk-inspired deduction. The stories touch on the same themes of hypocrisy, humor and a certain humanity. And yet there's enough freshness to the stories, that even if you've read many or all of the Rumpole stories up to this point, you'll probably not get tired of this.
In short, if you liked the earlier stuff, you'll like this. If you hated the old stuff, you won't find much to enjoy.
Count me in with the fans. If I were to describe the tone of the experience of reading a collection of Rumpole stories, I think the best single word to use would be "comfortable." It's a horrible cliché to say, but I think this is one of the few cases where it's true to say that settling down to read a Rumpole collection really is like sitting down with an old friend.
The short stories in this collection are most standalone although a few plot strands can be seen running through several tales. Rumpole's determination to keep smoking his small cigars in his office chambers will not be new to fans. The revelation of Soapy Sam's previous life as a punk rocker, on the other hand, is probably something that would have familiar readers taking a double take at. It's to Mortimer's credit that both the familiar and the new slot in very easily, and even things that would appear to be completely out of character still fit in.
While the character of Rumpole has not aged appreciably since his introduction almost 25 years ago, the stories themselves are keeping up to date with several "ripped from the headlines" style plot lines. I appreciated seeing Mortimer's take on, say, asylum seekers placed right next to standard stories of Rumpole solving a murder.
I hate repeating myself, but I think it bears repeating: if you've liked the previous Rumpole stories, then you're almost certain to enjoy these. The familiar atmosphere of the Rumpole tales is here, but there are enough differences to keep long time readers from becoming bored. And if you're new to the series, then this is as good a place as any to get started.
Good Fun with Rumpole of the Bailey.......2007-03-20
Those of you familiar with dear old, unique if you will, Rumpole who never bothered with the "Silk" will enjoy this work.
The best Rumpole book.......2006-02-27
I love all my Rumpole books and I used to think it was impossible to pick one as my favorite, but I think this is it. This book is by turns funny and sad, and from the ending it is easy to see why Rumpole fans thought this would be the last Rumpole book. (Fortunately, there are two more.) I like this book for many reasons. First, Rumpole's Head of Chambers, Soapy Sam Ballard, is shown to be more human and sympathetic than he has ever been. Second, Rumpole discovers an unexpected ally in his new Chambers colleague, the annoying Archie Prosser. Third, this book is unusually full of rich images; I especially enjoyed Rumpole's descriptions of the luxuriously appointed bathroom at a client's house and of a sumptuous lunch he had with a wealthy client at a hotel by the River Thames. Fourth, all the stories are exceptionally good. I enjoyed "Rumpole and the Remembrance of Things Past," about a man accused of killing his wife; "Rumpole and the Asylum Seekers," about a political refugee from Afghanistan; "Rumpole and the Camberwell Carrot," about a Member of Parliament accused of using prohibited drugs; and "Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf," about a teenager accused of stalking a school friend. The title story and the last in the book, "Rumpole Rests His Case," is one of the best Rumpole stories ever.
He's baaack!.......2005-01-05
After a long hiatus, John Mortimer brings back the venerable Horace Rumpole, everyone's favourite (he deserves an English spelling) crochety, cheroot-chomping lawyer. For fans of the series, She Who Must Be Obeyed, FIG Newton, the Timsons, and Chateu Thames Embankment are all back. And as ever, in this collection of cases, Rumpole does not always emerge victorious.
This batch of cases is wonderfully up to date. Rumpole deals with smoking bans and defends Afghan refugees and pot-toking right wing hypocrites. As ever, he fights off modernity, career advancement, and interior decorators with wit as caustic and prose as crisp as ever.
I won't spoil the big ending but for fans of the series, what can one say to old Horace but "welcome back!"
In memory of Leo Kern.
Rumpole at Rest..........2005-01-02
The underlying thread in this collection of stories is freedom -- specifically, Rumpole's "right" to smoke in chambers. He is more a champion of the underdog than most leftists today, yet maintains a wonderfully conservative suspicion of social engineering. The stories are stand alone. The best in my view is the teenage werewolf. A great read....
Amazon.com
How much longer will readers be treated to new stories featuring irreverent and irascible London barrister Horace Rumpole? The character was created for British television in the 1970s by John Mortimer, who once said that he'd continue writing Rumpole tales only so long as actor Leo Kern could portray him on the tube. If Kern's death in July 2002 means that Rumpole Rests His Case is the beginning of the end, then at least this series concludes on a high and humorous note.
The seven yarns collected here find the rumpled Rumpole defending his usual assortment of eccentric clients, while also fending off antismoking zealots, interior designers with a taste for lava lamps, and his domineering wife, Hilda ("known to me only as She Who Must Be Obeyed"). One story teams the elderly advocate with an elusive Afghan doctor who was smuggled into the U.K. in a crate of mango chutney, and now seeks to become a legal resident. In another, Rumpole investigates an assault, apparently committed by an unmanageable teenager with a poetic streak, while a third case has the barrister working for a hypocritical right-wing politician who, after first seducing away the wife of one of Rumpole's colleagues, is accused of a drug offense. Cleverest of all, though, is the title tale, in which a hospital-confined Rumpole builds the defense for one of his roommates, a "reformed" thief with an unlikely connection to the aged major who shot him during a residential break-in. With his own unreformed taste for claret and cheroots, Rumpole persists in being an entertaining, old-fashioned thorn in the silk-covered side of Britain's judicial system. Could somebody please tell Mortimer that it's too soon for this character to hang up his wig? --J. Kingston Pierce
Book Description
Fans old and new will welcome this brand-new volume in John Mortimer's hugely popular series-Horace Rumpole's first appearance in six years. The comic, courageous, and corpulent "great defender of muddled and sinful humanity" reenters the fray in a book that sends up the British legal system as deftly as ever. Rumpole Rests His Case brings us seven fresh and funny stories in which Horace triumphs over the forces of prejudice and mean-mindedness while he tiptoes precariously through the domestic territory of his wife Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed).
With his passion for Wordsworth, his kindly disposition toward the defendant, and a nose equally sensitive to the whiff of wrongdoing and the bouquet of a Château Thames Embankment, the disheveled Rumpole is back and in impeccable form-perhaps for the last time?
Customer Reviews:
No erosion of talent here........2007-07-13
Mortimer's talent as a writer has not diminished over the years, and this book is proof of that. This book has seven more stories of the wonderful, curmudgeonly Rumpole, and each one is a special gem. Rumpole runs the gamut in this book from defending someone in a relocation bid, to trying to uncover a sixties murder to defending a known criminal who has been charged with housebreaking and has got shot in the process. I always pick a favourite and in this book I think my favourite story was "Rumpole and the Camberwell Carrot". For those not in the know, a Camberwell carrot is a large reefer. In this book Rumpole's clients have been stuck in a sixties time warp, and it's hilarious how the story turns out. These books are such a joy to read. I look forward to each one.
Penge Bungalow Murders is better.......2005-08-27
Some might find the title and the ending of RUMPOLE RESTS HIS CASE a bit misleading. No, this is not the last novel in the series and no Rumpole does not die. Since this title was released, two more Rumpoles have been published-RUMPOLE AND THE PRIMROSE PATH and RUMPOLE AND THE PENGE BUNGALOW MURDERS.
Like the Sherlock Holmes stories, the characterization in these stories is far superior to the plots. Rumpole is one of the most loveable characters in British fiction, but even on what he perceives as his death bed, he manages to find a possible client and begins to formulate his closing statement in his mind.
What I found most impressive about these seven stories was Mortimer's weaving of contemporary issues into the stories. The members of chambers, primarily Liz Probert and Soapy Sam Ballard, have decided on a smoke-free environment. If Rumpole wants to smoke his beloved "small cigars," he most do it outside in the foul London weather. Rumpole sets out to blackmail Ballard into letting him smoke. This plot thread persists through several of the stories. In another story, Rumpole defends an Afghan who is seeking asylum in England. In the same story we get a bit of reality TV as Hilda volunteers to have the flat at Froxbury Mansions remodeled on a program called MAKE OVER.
Some of the supporting cast in the Rumpole stories don't change a whole lot. Erskine-Brown is always a "Queer Customer." Liz Probert is a younger version of Phillada; Judge Bullingham is always "The Bull." In this series of stories, Mortimer decides to tweak one of them a bit. When Rumpole sets out to blackmail Sam "Soapy" Ballard into letting him smoke in chambers, his effort has unforeseen consequences, making Ballard a much more likable character.
I liked the Penge Bungalow Murders better than this effort, probably because it's written in more of a novel format and we get to see Rumpole as a young man being stalked by Hilda, but there's enough of the curmudgeonly Rumpole in these stories to give you your yearly Rumpole fix. For instance, he refers to one of the other characters as having "the face of an immoderately self-satisfied Pekinese."
Reading Between the Lines.......2004-08-13
Rumpole is emboldened by Erskine-Brown's claret to sing. He is to go to Norfolk to Coldsands Church Christmans Day because the rector is a son of a school friend of Hilda, and from Hilda's judgment there is no appeal. Eric, the rector, is having a problem with the church tower. He refers to praying as knee work. Rumpole discovers the rich man Eric hopes to use to have the tower repaired is an old client of his. Rumpole consents to remain mum on that point if the man contributes to Eric's cause.
In another story 'she who must be obeyed' attends a school reunion and learns a past victim of her school girl humor did not leave the establishment for reason of the teasing. In another yarn Hilda has arranged for their flat to be featured on a make-over program on television. Rumpole is thankful when circumstances induce Hilda to leave the flat in its present state.
Rumpole refuses Erskine-Brown's offer of five hours of Wagner. Claude tells Rumpole that he and Phillada are having a separation. Rumpole undertakes to speak with Philly. It seems she has met someone, a politician, who is set up in a drug matter and becomes Rumpole's next client. In another instance Rumpole has a client who, in front of a judge in the throes of terminal irritation, decides to make a false confession to increase the drama for the sake of the jury.
One judge is characterized as conducting the proceedings as if Old Bailey were a summary and prejudicial offshoot of the Spanish Inquisition. Rumpole collapses. He could be said to have collapsed in the workplace if one were to call Old Bailey a workplace. Hilda tells him that the criminals he is so fond of will just have to go off to prison quietly.
Of course the whole thing is a wonderful amount of fun. John Mortimer's ability to crank out these droll tales is awesome.
The first new volume of Rumpole stories in six years.......2003-04-14
Mortimer brings the first new volume of Rumpole stories in six years, returning the comic British legal defender to modern times with seven new, funny stories of his court appearances. Familiarity with prior Rumpole accounts is not required but will enhance enjoyment of this latest series of episodes.
More Rumpole to Come.......2003-03-04
For those who were asking if this would be the last Rumpole book, the answer happily in there is more to come. Rumpole and the Primrose Path has been published in the UK and Canada and presumably will be published here eventually!
Average customer rating:
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Rumpole Rests His Case
John Mortimer
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Anthologies
| British
| Canadian
| General
| United States
Mortimer, John
| ( M )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
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General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0670910856 |
Product Description
Unabridged Chivers Audiobook. 6 cassettes in a vinyl clamshell case. Playing time 6 hours and 47 minutes. There's a new wind blowing in this dazzling collection of new Rumpole stories: for the first time Rumpole finds himself appearing for an asylum-seeker at the Appeals Tribunal and -- worst of all -- his chambers have become a smoke-free zone ... The stories are: Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces, Rumpole and the Remembrance of Things Past, Rumpole and the Asylum Seekers, Rumpole and the Camberwell Carrot, Rumpole and the Laddie, Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf and Rumpole Rests His Case.
Average customer rating:
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Rumpole Rests His Case
John Clifford Mortimer
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
British Detectives
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
Mystery & Thrillers
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 0786253290 |
Average customer rating:
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Rumpole Rests His Case
John Clifford Mortimer
Manufacturer: Viking Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Anthologies
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
British Detectives
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Legal
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 5558603011 |
Book Description
Jilted by her fiance, Jocelyn Tanner had to struggle not to believe that her own value had been somehow diminished. Still, she knew better than to let that fear ruin her tour of England. But no one had explained to her that there would be a mock bride auction--or that she would be sucked back in time to the close of the eighteenth century.
Suddenly Jocelyn found herself in another time, another body, and in a real auction--being claimed by a real hunk of a man. Still, her bride price hardly seemed flattering. And the handsome Garren had not yet shown her the attention for which she yearned. But as she began to make this new body her own, she saw interest flare behind the lord's reserved facade. She'd soon show him--and herself--in pounds or pennies, no one was worth more than his Sixpence Bride.
Customer Reviews:
Sixpence Bride.......2005-09-15
I loved this book, couldn't put it down. If you love time travel books with humor, this is the book for you. Also there is a sequel written called "Spenceworth Bride", which I'm reading now.
The Sixpence Bride.......2005-08-19
This book was highly recomended to me, unfortunately it was so slow and boring! The main character of Jocelyn was so scared to believe she had time traveled, then suddenly she has perfectly adjusted to the 18th century. Everyone loves her, though we never understan exactly why because they think shes crazy. This is one of those books you start and put down unfortunately I didn't I kept hoping it would improve. It didn't. Save you time and money.
Awesome book.......2003-03-14
Jocelyn Tanner was part of a mock bride auction. When her blood sugar dropped (the symptoms sounded like Hypoglycemia) she sat down to keep from passing out. Instead, she passed through time! After the blackness faded, she found herself in a real bride auction! She was sold for a sixpence to Lord Garren Spenceworth and immediately wed.
Garren's father had found out that he had bed Melody, a widow. His father took the opportunity to demand Garren wed within one month or he would choose a bride for Garren! The month was near the end. Out of spite to the ultimatum, Garren purchased a bride. It did not matter to him that she spoke strangely OR that she swore she was in a stranger's body! But when he fell in love with her the trouble began.
Now Melody and her brother were causing trouble, a gypsy lady kept appearing at odd times to help Jocelyn out and tell her that someone else was transferred into her twentieth century body, and happiness seemed impossible!
Oh, how I hope the lady who went to the twentieth century has her story next! This one is a KEEPER! You would do well to order in advance so you do not forget! DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS ONE! Highly recommended! Awesome!
Formerly-plump Heroine.......2003-02-25
Thoroughly modern Jocelyn Tanner was willing to lay aside her feminist reluctance at participating in the reenactment of an old-time wife swap while vacationing in England. But she never expected to faint dead away during the tableau and wake up in the very time period she'd been mimicking! Her new "husband", a foul person indeed, is desperately trying to cast her off in exchange for a few cents, and Jocelyn is more than willing to help him complete the sale. If only a suitable replacement "spouse" would rescue her from this predicament!
Garren Warrick, Lord Spenceworth, is in deep trouble indeed. With his father after him to take a wife, and no gentle woman who interests him in sight, Garren is fast becoming desperate. But not so desperate as to be dragged to the altar by that doxy, Lady Paxton, who had lured him to her bed a mere six months after her husband's death. With the Duke's marry-or-be-disowned ultimatum ringing in his ears, a rebellious Garren finds his luck is changing as he passes by a wife sale during his travels in the countryside.
Content to satisfy his father's dictate by hurriedly purchasing a bride (however unsuitable) he drops the grateful-but-confused Jocelyn off at his country estate and hastens back to London to get on with living his life as it suits him. But events beyond his control have him returning to his new wife, whom he is shocked to discover is a most delightful and intriguing companion.
Garren Spenceworth would never have guessed that he would find his spouse to be not only six-pence-worth, but completely priceless. But can he look past her slight tendency towards insanity as she babbles on about being from the future, and find contentment with her in his present?
What worked for me:
It's always fun to see modern people struggling to make sense of their new surroundings when they fall into the past.
Size-wise Jocelyn was unhappy with her new body as its plumpness reminded her of her high school days when she was tormented for being on the heavy side. Rather than accustom herself to her new body, she decided to make it adjust to her and put herself on a strict dietary and exercise regimen. (I couldn't help but wonder if the young lady from the past who swapped places with Jocelyn freaked out similarly in the future and tried to make her slender new body gain weight?)
What didn't work for me:
Frankly, of all the trials a modern woman would face living in the past, I doubt I would focus on not gaining weight from the rich meals. Indeed if there was anything to be concerned about as far as food goes, I would be far more terrified of falling ill from it being poorly prepared in unsanitary conditions!
I never really felt I knew Jocelyn or Garren all that well, so had a hard time rooting for them to work out their differences. I also had some reservations about Jocelyn's attempts to make her husband believe that she truly was from the future simply by quoting chapter and verse to him from her college British History course.
Overall:
A solid read for fans of time-travel romances.
If you liked "Sixpence Bride" you might also enjoy "Somewhere in Time", "A Love Through Time", or "Say You're Mine".
a enjoyable read.......2002-08-19
I bought this book when one of my Amazon.com friends bought it and gave me a discount if I bought it also. I'm glad I did. It was an enjoyable, quick read.
The story is a time-travel-historial one where the heroine is not only transported back in time but into another body. Jocelyn starts off on a bus tour in England where they have stopped to see a reenactment of a Bride sale. She is the chosen "bride" and gets into the costume only to find that everything has changed, including herself. She is sold to a handsome Lord Garren who is only marrying to get his father off his back. He is strongly attracted to her but cannot understand her strange ways and her insistance that she is in the wrong body! He deposits her at his country home and goes back to his old life. Jocelyn soon realizes that she cannot change the fact that she is now someone else and in another time but decides to adapt. She starts with making the new body hers which causes several raised eyebrows. She soon enlists Garren's father to help her win Garren. It is a very amusing plan.
Garren soon realizes that he needs her and loves her but is still unable to believe her story. They both must struggle to trust each other and overcome the past and the future.
I really enjoyed this tale and I look forward to others by this author. I'd like to see a sequel about the girl who took over Jocelyn's modern body.
Customer Reviews:
A fond return to childhood - highly recommended.......2007-08-27
I can remember very few things from 1963-64. Watching Jack Ruby take one in the gut - on live tv - and of course the Outer Limits! I was only 7 or so, but it seems these two things were somehow highlights of a mundane existence (don't cry for me, all is much better...). This show was the work of some very creative minds. I also recommend the book "The Outer Limits Companion". A very detailed work that even gives plot outlines for several unfilmed episodes. Great stuff, indeed.
Outer limits companion -review.......2007-07-27
This is an excellent book. Highly recommended for any fan of the original Outer Limits TV series of the 1960's. This book actully chronicles the
entire history of the show, from its inception up to its end. It also
includes interviews with the show's creators, script writers and several of the actors who appeared in the show during its run.
THE guide to the original Outer Limits TV series.......2007-04-10
I had the original version of this book and enjoyed it immensely. This one has been updated to include information that became available after the original publication. The new book is printed on better paper and has sections on available models, more interviews with participants, and some information about the new series. The focus, however, is on the original series.
If you are a fan of the original series, this book is for you.
An Indispensible Resource.......2006-03-08
This book is an outstanding companion to the original "Outer Limits" DVD sets. The amount of research that went into this volume is staggering. The author describes each episode in Seasons One and Two in great detail, including a transcription of the "Control Voice" narrative that began and ended the shows. Plot summaries, special effects, dialog, production problems--it's all here. Filled with rare, high-quality photographs and brimming with behind-the-scenes details about the show and its creators, "The Outer Limits Companion" is truly a "must have" for anyone interested in this vintage sci-fi television classic.
We Interupt This Program . . ........2005-03-22
What a wonderful book! I love watching the old horror programs on television, such as Karloff's Thriller, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. What I enjoy most is watching each program, and then spend a few minutes reading up on the production history and trivia about the program, thanks to books like this. I just spent the last three years reading "The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion" by Grams and Wikstrom and watched each and every episode of the Hitchcock TV series one by one. What a fascinating program. So logically, I purchased this book and am done the first season. With each viewing I turn to this book and find out trivia I did not know, and other neat facts. That's what tells me if the book is a good book or not. A must-have.
Book Description
The author seeks to counter commonly held notions--like the need for people to earn or be worthy of God's love--with the loving portrait of the Father handed down by Jesus.
Customer Reviews:
Easy read with profound images of what is means to be church.......2002-09-22
I just finished reading Michael's latest book and would recommend it to anyone who is searching for a more engaging way to understand and express their faith in God at a personal level as well as within a community setting. He provides a balance assessment of why there is not more active faith committment within our communities and solid insights regarding how to image our concept of being church based on Scripture and early church tradition.
Books:
- Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings
- She Came to Stay
- Sittin' in the Front Pew: A Novel (Strivers Row)
- Sofia Petrovna (European Classics)
- Some Fun: Stories and a Novella
- Some Prefer Nettles
- Staggerford: A Novel
- Start with a Digital Camera (Special Edition) (2nd Edition) (Start with a)
- Suicide Blonde
- Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The Dark Room, The English Teacher (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd: The inventories of the Wardrobe of Robes prepared in July 1600,
- History: Fiction or Science
- April Witch: A Novel
- Bedtime Erotica for Freaks
- Dating, Inc.: Recruit, Select, and Retain the Right Man for the Relationship
- Foundations of Higher Mathematics
- Bring Back the Buffalo!: A Sustainable Future for America's Great Plains
- Diana: Memory of a Rose
- Customs Valuation and Transfer Pricing: Is It Possible to Harmonize Customs and Tax Rules
- Retire Worry-Free: Money-Smart Ways to Build the Next Egg You'll Need
Rumpole and the Reign of Terror (Rumpole Novels)
Rumpole and the Primrose Path
Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders
The Third Rumpole Omnibus (Rumpole)
The First Rumpole Omnibus (Rumpole)
