The First Rumpole Omnibus: Rumpole of the Bailey/The Trials of Rumpole/Rumpole's Return

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This is a batch of humor to lighten the soul with a sprinkle of pathos for real world problems. Mortimer writes in a breezy, almost Wodehousian way, substituting the care-free, silly bachelor for a more curmudgeonly, sly near-retiree. But while Rumpole may be a bit grumpy with his colleagues and wife, and though he defends criminals, he is a thoroughly sympathetic character. Mortimer knows his boundaries and stays within them. He can also be relied upon to tell a satisfying tale competently. Dennis Timson ( Ron Pember) (Series 4–7): Another member of the Timson clan who frequently requires Rumpole's services, either for himself or for a family member.

Each of the short stories was rather predictable. You essentially knew what the outcome was going to be. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/100790. ISBN 9780198614111. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) His cigar smoking is often the subject of debate within his Chambers. His peers sometimes criticise his attire, noting his old hat (a battered Homburg), imperfectly aligned clothes, cigar ash trailing down his waistcoat and faded barrister's wig, "bought second hand from a former Chief Justice of Tonga" (or the Windward Islands: Rumpole is occasionally an unreliable narrator). Legal Fiction: Wit, humanity and nostalgic English melancholy". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007 . Retrieved 7 May 2010.The Summer of a Dormouse: A Year of Growing Old Disgracefully (autobiography), Viking Penguin, London (2000); ISBN 0-670-89106-1; Viking Press, New York (2001); ISBN 0-670-89986-0

Mortimer's 2009 obituary in The Daily Telegraph confirmed that Rumpole was, in part, based on a chance meeting in court with James Burge QC: With weak eyes and doubtful lungs, Mortimer was classified as medically unfit for military service in World War II. [7] He worked for the Crown Film Unit under Laurie Lee, writing scripts for propaganda documentaries.This is a collection of short stories about an English lawyer named Horace Rumpole. His "speciality" is defending criminals, and his colleagues often give him a hard time about his refusal to take any other types of cases. He refers to his wife as "She Who Must Be Obeyed" and seems to rather dislike his home life. While writing the series, John Mortimer still worked as a barrister. He would wake up at half past five in the morning to write the scripts. Then he would start his day at Old Bailey.