The Second Rumpole Omnibus

Rumpole of the Bailey #omnibus

by John Mortimer

This volume contains twenty tales featuring beloved barrister Horace Rumpole as he turns down another invitation to exchange the joys and sorrows of life as an Old Bailey hack for the delights of the Sunshine State -- where senior citizens loll on beaches and the sarcastic tones of the Mad Bull (Judge Roger Bullingham) are heard no more. Instead, Rumpole settles for the beaded bubbles of Chateau Pommeroy's ordinary claret, and his role extraordinaire as Defender of the Faith: "Never Plead Guilty."

"Mortimer has created one of the legendary fictional detectives . . . a barrister [who's] as much a detective as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot." -- The Boston Sunday Globe

"Wonderfully amusing . . . full of pithy writing . . . witty and opinionated." -- The Wall Street Journal

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Humor, Short Stories, British Literature, Crime, Legal

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

John Clifford Mortimer was a novelist, playwright and former practising barrister. Among his many publications are several volumes of Rumpole stories and a trilogy of political novels, Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets, featuring Leslie Titmuss - a character as brilliant as Rumpole. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998.

Series:
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rapstone Chronicles

Reviews

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blimey, these are good. I'm so glad I found them - even if I'm late to the party. Tightly written, bursting with style and very, very funny. Yes, many of the stories contain a serious message, but it's the humour that shines through. On to volume three....

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and funny. Love the characters he developed in his stories.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My dad sent me some of these. They're full of dad-like humor. These were fine -- rather predictable, a few somewhat amusing lines, etc. Somewhat self-aware, which helps.

[Mark McTague · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who like televised adaptations of novels and short stories, Leo McKern's Rumpole is for me, like David Suchet's Poirot, the embodiment of the character, and recalling those actors' portrayals is part of the pleasure of this text. Horace Rumpole is in his own words a legal hack, a man who has perhaps lost as many legal battles as he has won, yet he has the strength and self-possession to take a detached view of himself and life in general. Thoughtful, intelligent, and not above scheming to get what he wants, he nonetheless is honorable, a defender of those who, either through fate or their own weaknesses, find themselves in a jam. Subordinated to She Who Must Be Obeyed, a stern woman who dreams of better things than being his wife (though she wanted to marry him many years past, and in a moment of weakness aided by a large amount of wine, he assented), Rumpole defends the innocent and guilty alike, always looking for the truth, for justice, and for the defense of the golden thread of justice - the presumption of innocence. A lover of poetry, he often quotes lines and stanzas to good effect in this compilation of first-person stories of his life at the bar. He is especially poignant for me than when he seeks solace there for the failures of his life, particularly the less-than-happy marriage to his wife Hilda. There is a wry, pensive, almost melancholic tone at times to these asides that lends depth to his character. Rumpole has been bloodied by life, yet remains unbowed, and that makes him quite appealing. John Mortimer, the author, has splendid command of the language, and all of his writing is well recommended.

[Ken Montville · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that should have been a short read but how can anything with over 600 pages be a short read. It's a bunch of short stories with a quick beginning, middle and end. They seem to be sequential with references to various events in previous stories. However, each story stands on it's own with Rumpole coming out on top every time.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

670 pages, three books in one, and not a page that isn't worth reading. Mortimer's wonderful character, Rumpole, may be prone to repeat himself - usually for effect - but the stories are as varied as possible, and the characters as wonderful a representation of humanity as you'll find outside Dickens. Even those who appear to fit a certain mould can surprise us.
There are some great stories here, craftily plotted for the most part, and often more compassionate than they appear on the surface. A number of them stand out, but Mortimer seems even more at his best in stories that leave the usual milieu of the Old Bailey behind, such as the one set in an African post-colonial country, or the one set in a British Regimental 'colony' in Germany (the villain in this piece seemed more obvious from early on than is usual, but the writing is wonderful).

[John Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic British courtroom humor as the misanthropic bombastic Rumpole for the defense slugs his way through the courtroom, skewering the haughty, the self-important and hypocritical colleagues while championing the poor, the downtrodden and the semi-innocent. As the chips fall and the truth sneaks its way in under Rumpole’s dogged persistence, we are left laughing out loud at times or just shaking our head and eagerly moving on to the next case(while toasting our hero with a glass of ruby claret of excellent vintage, of course!)

[Jason Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic anti-hero Rumpole escapes from his flat and She Who Must Be Obeyed to don a wig and argue cases for lovable rogues at the famous Old Bailey in London. He must battle moralistic prosecutors, biased judges, and rivals in his chambers. But at least he is comforted by some cheap vintage waiting for him at Pommery’s Wine Bar to console and distract him from his dicey financial situation and She WMBO demands for new furniture. Light reading to be sure, but slightly educational!

[Vinay Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection. Love the Rumpole character. Clear in his motto (Never plead guilty), critique of the human habits and an (sour) apple in judges' eyes, all his cases are fun to read and although sometimes incomprehensible in the details, the end result is a funny, delightful and light reading keeping you smiling (not laughing) throughout

[Neil Saltmarsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the creation of Horace Rumpole is one of my favourite fictional characters. He is dry in wit, but has feet of clay and sometimes a little off-putting. There is much love invested by the author in this character and the stories are very interesting and enjoyable. What can I say about a barrister that loves poetry? Too good. Highly recommend it.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a treat to read this collection of the volumes “Rumpole for the Defence,” “Rumpole and the Golden Thread” and “Rumpole’s Last Case,” with 20 stories featuring defense barrister Horace Rumpole. I’m ready for more tales featuring the self-described “Old Bailey hack.”

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rumpole is always fun. A fantastic bit of light reading to bring along on vacation. I love how even the worst setbacks are shrugged off by all parties concerned, and you are left feeling that nothing can go permanently wrong in the Rumpole world.

[Patrick Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb stories.

I thoroughly recommend these wonderful tales of yore, beautifully written by that masterful author John Mortimer - a veritable literary treasure. Horace Rumpole ‘clicks’ all my boxes celebrating humanity, a most endearing character.

[tyrt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of stories about the irascible, indefatigable barrister Horace Rumpole as he defends his clients and tries his best to stay out of office politics.

[Nancy Rushton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumpole and his cigars - love em.

[Lauren Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read especially if you've seen the show.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light bedtime read

[John Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories of the marvellous Rumpole, of their time perhaps - the language reflects the 1980s but very enjoyable nonetheless. Easy holiday read.

[Renee Jomaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumpole and the Last Resort is the best short story of them all, although they are all great.

[Rowena Onions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories but I ran out of steam a little by the end of the two omnibuses... even though I had spread the reading of them over a couple of years.

[Stephen Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and easy to read. Hard to spot differences with the TV series.

[Timothy Reynolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before picking up this book, I'd never read a Rumpole story or even seen one on the television. I had heard much about them and how popular the tv adaptations were. So when this book passed me on its way back to a book swap, I thought I'd give it a go. I persevered to the end of the first in this three book collection (Rumpole for the Defence) but decided then that I had had enough.

I'll let Rumpole introduce himself: "I'm Horace Rumpole. ... Everyone down the Old Bailey knows me. I'm an amiable eccentric who drops ash down his waistcoat and tells the time with a gold hunter and calls Judges old sweethearts. Also I recite Wordsworth in the loo."

Rumpole is a criminal defence barrister, who takes on cases from which it seems impossible to squeeze a not guilty verdict. Each chapter of about 30 pages is a separate story. The stories are original and engaging. They readily draw you into Rumpole's latest attempt to defend a seemingly banged-to-rights villain as you wonder how he is going to get this one off - which he always does.

The means and devices he uses are clever and imaginative. True, his successes are not always to be celebrated. On one occasion he realises soon after his triumph that he has been duped by the defendant, who was after all guilty of murder. In another case, he gets the defendant cleared of murder only by proving them guilty of another serious crime. The engaging features of these stories, however, are not enough to redeem them.

The language the writer as well as Rumpole uses and the attitudes they betray (such as in the description of a delinquent West Indian youth) are at best, shall we say, of their time. Were societal attitudes that very different forty odd years ago when the book first came out? So it would seem. Worst of all, in my view, is Rumpole's attitude to his wife Hilda, whom he insists on calling She Who Must Be Obeyed. If it was ever a joke, it quickly wears very thin. Rumpole is relentlessly misogynistic and seems to be more married to the bottle (of wine) than to his wife in a way that comes across as grubby rather than sophisticated.

Enough!

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This omnibus edition contains 'Rumpole for the Defence', Rumpole and the Golden Thread' and Rumpole's Last Case'. This is a marvellous collection of short stories and I have read and re-read it many times since it was first published. Rumpole is as ever on good form with various fallings out with 'She Who Must be Obeyed' - AKA Hilda Rumpole and plenty of disagreements with judges, especially with Judge Bullingham.

Rumpole is always in search of the truth and sees possible defences where other people may only see a guilty plea. There are some of my favourite stories in this collection including 'Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail' - which shows Rumpole dealing with a crime which he prefers not to touch if he can avoid it and 'Rumpole and the Dear Departed' in which he receives his instructions from beyond the grave.

I also particularly like 'Rumpole and the Genuine Article' in which the art world comes in for some scorn, and 'Rumpole and the Old Boy Net' which ridicules the idea that everyone from the same school should stick together in later life. 'Rumpole and the Last Resort' is priceless and shows Rumpole getting round the convention which stops barristers suing for unpaid fees.

Of the third selection in this volume I particularly enjoy 'Rumpole and the Official Secret' in which his brief is delivered in a safe and involves the number of biscuits consumed by Ministry staff. 'Rumpole and the Bright Seraphim' is a sober and thought provoking story which examines the question of loyalty and how far people will go to uphold it.

Many of the stories in this volume will make you smile but others do raise some disturbing questions and will cause the reader to think more deeply about the law and justice.

[Yrinsyde]

Oh, how I love thee my sweet Rumpole! Wittily and snappily written, John Mortimer (ex-barrister and ex-colleague of Geoffry Robertson), tells the story of the successes and failures of 'an old London hack' who, after work, subsides into Pommoroy's Wine Bar to partake of the esteemable 'Chateau Fleet Street', only to be harassed by 'She Who Must be Obeyed' (ie; the wife) when he arrives home. Excellently played in the television series by Leo McKern (pictured on the cover of this book), the characters are sharp, the scenes crisp, and the stories delightful! If you want to gain some inside knowledge of how the British (and other Commonweath countries) legal system works, read Rumpole!!

[Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

The classic "old Bailey Hack" created by the genius playwright John Mortimer. One of the most beloved and funny charachters created in modern times. Became a hit TV series now available on DVD as is the First Omnibus

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you're a lawyer or not Rumpole is great. Tremendously funny and irreverent too. The barrister who never lost a case - well, he might have done, but to know that for sure you'd have to read his stories - something I would recommend.

[Ericthehamster]

"Rumpole - a classic and hilarious view of the English criminal legal system through the eyes of one of its practitioners, the fictional Rumpole, and as written by a barrister, John Mortimer. I think even those unfamiliar with the system would find these entertaining."

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Rumpole I have read and it was as good as the first. I missed the TV shows from several years ago so his adventures are all new to me. Good entertaining book, not heavy, beach read, air travel read, etc.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing more comforting than to share in Rumpole's waxing on about the 'golden thread of justice' down at the Old Bailey.