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Where There's a Will
Following the bestselling SUMMER OF A DORMOUSE, Sir John Mortimer - playwright, novelist, octogenarian and erstwhile QC - offers up more wickedly funny lessons in living and growing old disgracefully. What would we like to leave to our descendants? Not a third-rate painting or our PEPS, according to Sir John, but a love of Shakespeare, a taste for alcohol, the ability to defeat boredom, the importance of never locking the lavatory door, and so on. Owing something to Montaigne's essays, something to Wilde's aphorisms and something to Yeats' poem for his daughter, Where There's a Will offers plenty of sparkling and surprising advice from one who has seen it all.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
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58 people want to read
About the author
John Mortimer
248 books228 followersJohn 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
Series:
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rapstone Chronicles
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 22, 2015
This book essentially contains more of that which has gone before (“Summer of a Dormouse” et al). I could well imagine the editor at Viking Penguin scratching his/her/its head for a title for another book out of the master; possibly a last opportunity before the Great Man toddled off to meet, or maybe not to meet, “The Grand Perhaps.”
Cynicism laid aside, Mortimer does not disappoint. He knows exactly when and how to ridicule himself: “At university I took for a while, to purple corduroy trousers, bow ties and a large-brimmed sombrero. I would wear this outfit whilst smoking black Balkan Sobranie cigarettes. I must have looked ridiculous. Luckily I started to go to the tailor in Oxford who has made my clothes ever since …”(pp 102-103).
What else can I say? I found this book merely moderate in its ability to provoke my thought. It contains no essays of high drama, horror, or tragedy. There’s nothing obvious here between the boards to unsettle the bedtime reader. This is a book of humanity and the human condition, lightened and enlivened by Mortimer’s zest, personal experience and unique ‘take’ on life. It’s what I’d call ‘a reliable read’, a ‘steady’ read, a ‘popular’; read. Exactly, I suspect what both the publisher and his accountant desired. And it’s absolutely none the worse for that.
p.s. Smokers in the UK today who either have, or who want to develop, a Sobranie habit (Black Russian or Cocktail) need to be well heeled; at £10.39 for a pack of twenty (online, 14-Dec-2013)!
Cynicism laid aside, Mortimer does not disappoint. He knows exactly when and how to ridicule himself: “At university I took for a while, to purple corduroy trousers, bow ties and a large-brimmed sombrero. I would wear this outfit whilst smoking black Balkan Sobranie cigarettes. I must have looked ridiculous. Luckily I started to go to the tailor in Oxford who has made my clothes ever since …”(pp 102-103).
What else can I say? I found this book merely moderate in its ability to provoke my thought. It contains no essays of high drama, horror, or tragedy. There’s nothing obvious here between the boards to unsettle the bedtime reader. This is a book of humanity and the human condition, lightened and enlivened by Mortimer’s zest, personal experience and unique ‘take’ on life. It’s what I’d call ‘a reliable read’, a ‘steady’ read, a ‘popular’; read. Exactly, I suspect what both the publisher and his accountant desired. And it’s absolutely none the worse for that.
p.s. Smokers in the UK today who either have, or who want to develop, a Sobranie habit (Black Russian or Cocktail) need to be well heeled; at £10.39 for a pack of twenty (online, 14-Dec-2013)!
September 9, 2018
Re-read in light of Mr M's passing. Brilliant collection of aphorisms and genuine sense of passing on a lifetime's experience and wisdom. Particularly like the bit about finding complete happiness while peeing into a bucket in Basingstoke.
June 12, 2024
Towards the end of his life John Mortimer shares what he would wish to pass on to others in terms of wisdom. An interesting set of views from someone who was difficult to stereotype.
December 23, 2017
Varied musings from John Mortimer, in terms of what wisdom he has to pass on to coming generations - humorous as always!
November 13, 2022
This British author is famous for his Rumpole books (never heard of them, but that isn't saying much). He wrote this book in his 80s to impart wisdom through his last "will" and testament. Mildly amusing.
August 10, 2020
Rumpole in essay form.
December 23, 2022
A collection of essays published in 2005 when the author was 82 - some historical, some glimpses of his youth and working life as a barrister and a writer, some views on politics - all interesting
June 10, 2023
I don't agree with everything he says but it was quite light and engaging to read.
July 3, 2024
Audio book excellently narrated by Peter Barker.
First published 2003
The first John Mortimer I have read and now keen to read the Rumpole series.
First published 2003
The first John Mortimer I have read and now keen to read the Rumpole series.
August 6, 2023
Communism is gay.
March 22, 2008
If you enjoy the many popular stories about that stout defender of due process, Horace Rumpole, you will probably also like this memoir by John Mortimer, the author the Rumpole stories and many other fine plays and novels. What I've liked best about Rumpole is his world-view and, perhaps not surprisingly, Mortimer shares many of the opinions of his famous character and not a few of his eccentricities.
In a series of essays and reflections written in the legacy stage of his life, Mortimer offers his future inheritors some of the moments that have made his life worth living: lying on the grave where Byron once lay and trying, like him, to write poetry; his daughter's wedding, complete with a Mexican punk band and the arrangement of her bridal bouquet on a burial site; screwing up his courage and taking off his glasses to kiss a possibly bald woman; and taking a happy and reflective piss in a bucket. He gets to trot out many of his favorite old hobby-horses one last time, as well. He shares his gentle outrage, for example, over the cultural shift to the right that made possible the proposal of the Sexual Offenses Bill, which would make pastoral bonking a criminal offense and he cautions against against the one-dimensional, doctrinaire people whose views about almost any subject can be inferred by their opinion on a single hot button topic:
"Avoid those whose views on every subject can be confidently predicted after you have discovered what they think about one. You know, with some people who utter dire threats about global warming, for instance, that they are going to be hostile to smokers, motor cars, jokes about mothers-in-law, school nativity plays, strip shows and the swallowing of live oysters. Equally tedious are those who complain about high taxes and are bound to be in favor of the death penalty, take a tough line on asylum seekers and are hostile to gay weddings, homeopathic medicines, Muslims and conceptual art."
Despite his willingness to poke fun at the absurdities the times in which he has lived, Mortimer's view of the human condition is tender and humane.
In a series of essays and reflections written in the legacy stage of his life, Mortimer offers his future inheritors some of the moments that have made his life worth living: lying on the grave where Byron once lay and trying, like him, to write poetry; his daughter's wedding, complete with a Mexican punk band and the arrangement of her bridal bouquet on a burial site; screwing up his courage and taking off his glasses to kiss a possibly bald woman; and taking a happy and reflective piss in a bucket. He gets to trot out many of his favorite old hobby-horses one last time, as well. He shares his gentle outrage, for example, over the cultural shift to the right that made possible the proposal of the Sexual Offenses Bill, which would make pastoral bonking a criminal offense and he cautions against against the one-dimensional, doctrinaire people whose views about almost any subject can be inferred by their opinion on a single hot button topic:
"Avoid those whose views on every subject can be confidently predicted after you have discovered what they think about one. You know, with some people who utter dire threats about global warming, for instance, that they are going to be hostile to smokers, motor cars, jokes about mothers-in-law, school nativity plays, strip shows and the swallowing of live oysters. Equally tedious are those who complain about high taxes and are bound to be in favor of the death penalty, take a tough line on asylum seekers and are hostile to gay weddings, homeopathic medicines, Muslims and conceptual art."
Despite his willingness to poke fun at the absurdities the times in which he has lived, Mortimer's view of the human condition is tender and humane.
September 23, 2007
Mortimer writes well and humorously. Memoirs can sometimes lead to tedious rants on the world or excessive self-glorification and justification, but Mortimer is willing to laugh at himself and his own views on the world (that he gently pokes fun at the rest of the world is also greatly entertaining). These are views of a man who has come to terms with himself and the world, views that may echo some popular ideologies (or at least, ideologies popular in Mortimer's times), but which he has reflected upon and pieced together into a larger worldview that is uniquely his, with its own idiosyncracies and contradictions.
There are times when I thought he was too nostalgic over his upper-middle-class youth, and tacitly assumed that people of all stratas would have the same beliefs and dreams. One-sided arguments and considerations are, I suppose, artistic licenses granted to memoirs, although Mortimer does at times hints that he is well aware that one's "good life" may well be an aversion to another, as he does in the chapter on "avoiding utopia".
"I found it to be a general rule that the children of reasonably well-off, middle-class homes fell in love with the soulfulness of Russia. Those with more working-class backgrounds found that it stood for everything they were determined to get away from and hated it. Peter Hall, the theatre's multi-talented director, left suddenly by train for England after the oppressive Moscow reminded too painfully of his childhood before he got into Cambridge and became a star."
There are times when I thought he was too nostalgic over his upper-middle-class youth, and tacitly assumed that people of all stratas would have the same beliefs and dreams. One-sided arguments and considerations are, I suppose, artistic licenses granted to memoirs, although Mortimer does at times hints that he is well aware that one's "good life" may well be an aversion to another, as he does in the chapter on "avoiding utopia".
"I found it to be a general rule that the children of reasonably well-off, middle-class homes fell in love with the soulfulness of Russia. Those with more working-class backgrounds found that it stood for everything they were determined to get away from and hated it. Peter Hall, the theatre's multi-talented director, left suddenly by train for England after the oppressive Moscow reminded too painfully of his childhood before he got into Cambridge and became a star."
October 16, 2015
Reading and viewing "Rumpole of the Bailey" over the years one could imagine the creator John Mortimer as a bit of a character. In reading this book the supposition is confirmed outright! This is a light but cogent reflection on the words of Richard III (Shakespeare)
"Let's choose executors and talk of wills" anticipating his imminent demise. Mortimer reviews and reflects what he would like to leave his decedents (and us!). It is a smart and highly amusing reflection on our collective lives and what really is important in the grand scheme of things. The chapter on "The Grand Perhaps" is excellent and so well presented using Browning's "Bishop Bloughram's Apology". He considers the legacy of love of literature to be high on the list of bequeaths with Shakespeare, Browning and Sherlock Holmes to be tops. He also widely quotes from Montaigne and Yeats to bolster his legal-minded arguments, all done in very light manner but giving us lots to ponder. Most enjoyable!
"Let's choose executors and talk of wills" anticipating his imminent demise. Mortimer reviews and reflects what he would like to leave his decedents (and us!). It is a smart and highly amusing reflection on our collective lives and what really is important in the grand scheme of things. The chapter on "The Grand Perhaps" is excellent and so well presented using Browning's "Bishop Bloughram's Apology". He considers the legacy of love of literature to be high on the list of bequeaths with Shakespeare, Browning and Sherlock Holmes to be tops. He also widely quotes from Montaigne and Yeats to bolster his legal-minded arguments, all done in very light manner but giving us lots to ponder. Most enjoyable!
November 30, 2014
Having reached old age, John Mortimer shares what he believes to be the secrets of life with his customary wit and insight. My main problem with this is that he has shared many of them before - between a third and a half of the observations and anecdotes are cut and pasted from 'The Summer of a Dormouse', so that although this is enjoyable, it is also lazy, cynical publishing. Don't read it if you've already read the earlier book.
March 9, 2015
My sister Gill gave me this book to read which she just loved. I enjoyed it too. John Mortimer has a unique voice and this book is his swan song and talks about what we truly leave posterity. It is a compendium of his views on life and advice on everything from what to wear, what to worry about and the joys of al fresco sex. It is a quick and easy read. It makes me want to read more by him.
October 24, 2015
A delightful read from a masterful raconteur. Approaching the end of his life, he passes on his collected wisdom on a number of topics, including art, literature, writing, music, food, drink, the tyranny of majorities, believing in something, living with children, giving money to beggars, etc.
April 14, 2010
Funny and pungent comments on life as he's lived it.
January 4, 2012
Agree with Mortimer, those who think they know it all usually know the least; those who think they have all the answers have always lost the plot.
October 16, 2014
Abandoned! Just not my cup of tea. Cannot judge the book, as could be a good read it this is your type of book.
July 9, 2015
Enjoyed this -
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews