Sunday, March 24, 2013

Book review - "Rumpole of the Bailey" by John Mortimer

The first collection of stories from perhaps the most favourite fictional defense barrister of all time. I've read them a bunch of times so I can't be too objective but they remain terrifically entertaining.

The first story, "Rumpole and the Younger Generation:, introduces all the initial main characters in brilliantly distinctive strokes - Hilda, Gutherie Featherstone and his wife, Tom, Nick, Eskine-Brown and the Timsons. It's a shock to realise how few of them stay the course. There's also the Timsons.

Rumpole falls in love in "Rumpole and the Younger Generation"; he later gets in severe trouble with the barristers board, scares off his prospective daughter in law by attacking a rape accuser in court, gets his wife jealous, teachers his pupil Phyllida a valuable lesson and has various other adventures. Brilliantly witty, quite decent plot, memorable characters.

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