Rumpole and the Golden Thread

Rumpole of the Bailey #5

by John Mortimer

Horace Rumpole, whom the nation has taken to its collective bosom, continues to deftly juggle the vagaries of law, the ambiguities of crime and the contradictions of the the human hearth in his death-defying performances on behalf of justice.

Here he takes on the con-o-sewers of the art world, journeys deep into the throbbing heart of Africa, dabbles in some female politics, decides the country is a very dangerous place, and incurs the wrath of Hilda...

Rumpole and the genuine article --
Rumpole and the golden thread --
Rumpole and the old boy net --
Rumpole and the female of the species --
Rumpole and the sporting life --
Rumpole and the last resort

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Humor, Short Stories, Crime, Audiobook, Comedy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeeelightful!!! This book in the series is such a joy as the author (who is also a barrister) gives us six humorous short tales of the lovable, irreverent, poetry spouting, plonk drinking barrister, Horace Rumpole of the Bailey. He is the man who takes cases of petty crooks which nobody else in the Chambers would touch and wins them through sometimes less than straightforward methods.
He debunks judges and has a habit of calling them "old darling"...............and gets away with it.

He lives with his wife of many years, Hilda, who he calls "She Who Must Be Obeyed" but certainly not so she can hear him. She has great plans for Rumpole's career but he is having none of it. He is satisfied with his career defending some strange, and often guilty, people who live on the edges of society.

Someone said of him that he belonged in the great gallery of English oddballs from Pickwick to Sherlock Holmes to Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. This book and the series are just plain fun!

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

the title story manages to weave old-fashioned morality, English legalese, colonialism, and the need for African independence into an inoffensive little mystery. but is that a valediction or a condemnation? this take on a loaded topic is certainly tasteful and wryly amusing. but should it be?

in general, Rumpole's timeless appeal continues to elude me - She Who Must Be Obeyed notwithstanding. the stories featuring his adventures are pleasant and innocuous; the gentle liberalism is enjoyable. but overall: forgettable.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC radio 4 - Drama:
In Africa defending an old pupil in a murder trial, Rumpole is arrested and Phillida arrives to bail him out. A spark between them is rekindled and burns throughout the final episodes of this long running Radio 4 series.

For fifteen years and 33 episodes, Rumpole has fought, won and, very rarely, lost myriad cases - and fallen in and out of love with his wife Hilda and
"the Portia of our Chambers", Phillida Trant, who adores him, and probably always will. These three final episodes leave us guessing until the very end - will Rumpole finally leave his wife Hilda, "She who must be obeyed", for Phillida?

Adapted by Richard Stoneman
Directed by Marilyn Imrie

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b1...

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see that I do not have a shelf for humour. But what would I include except Wodehouse and Mortimer and Townsend?

Horace Rumpole is an old barrister, the fancy name the English attach to a lawyer. He tells us of his little adventures in the Old Bailey. With a tiny dose of domestic troubles. At home he is ruled by She Who Must Be Obeyed. His wife Hilda. Ah, is this supposed to be funny? I am afraid it is.

I hasten to add that I do not agree and even in the 80s when this came out it was kind of stupid. (I also disliked Kishon calling his wife the best there is.)

So these books are funny not because of the sometimes lame jokes (and the names like Guthrie Featherstone or Erskine-Brown) but in spite of them.

Actually, in one of the stories Rumpole and the Female of the Species Mortimer/Rumpole addresses his patriarchal tendencies and denies that there are any. And in the title story it is interesting to see how he handles colonialism and racism.

Anyway, reading this I wish I lived in a land (and at a time) where I could respond to someone telling me a boring story: “Oh, jolly good”.

And in Rumpole and the Old Boy Net (where he criticises the public school system) he is opposed to a member of a LAC (Lawyers As Churchgoers) who represents the Queen in a case he expresses his wish that the prosecution will be conducted in a Christian spirit. “You can rely on me for that“ the guy says. And Rumpole: “Perhaps you’ll show a certain reluctance about casting the first stone.”

7/10

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rumple deals with postcolonialism, art, public school ethics, feminism, near death experience.

[Nancy Thormann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Rumpole book. I saw the shows on PBS years ago and enjoyed those. The book was as good as the shows. I've got the DVDs and will start watching those.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining collection of five short stories about Horace Rumpole, the barrister in law. ‘Rumpole and the Golden Thread’ finds Rumpole defending a Cabinet Mininster of a former British African colony. ‘Rumpole and the old boy network’ is about Rumpole defending an old school couple who run a brothel for upper class clients. A prominent person tries to avoid having his name made public. ‘Rumpole and the female of the Species’, finds Rumpole trying to have Fiona, a female barrister, accepted into Rumple’s chamber. ‘Rumple and the Sportiing Life’ is about Rumpole defending a wife on the charge of murdering her husband. ‘Rumpole and the lasted resort’ finds Rumpole struggling to pay his bills. He uses drastic measures to have a very old client pay a large bill owing to Rumpole.

An enjoyable reading experience. Readers new to the Rumple series should begin with ‘Rumpole at the Bailey’ or ‘Rumpole and the Primrose Path’.

This book was first published in 1983.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally read way back in the day when the late Leo McKern (as depicted on the cover) was a familiar TV face. Today, Rumpole is found mainly on the radio through the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch and more recently Julian Rhind-Tutt and remains a kindly old companion. The stories may be familiar, but that is irrelevant, old darling. Rumpole remains (and always will) the scourge of the Old Bailey, an unpretentious hack but with a 'golden thread' stronger than any steel.
This time he is dispatched to a fictional unstable African country (formerly New Somerset) and finds himself involved in tribal loyalties; cleverly manipulates the advent of another female barrister to challenge Portia's dominance and becomes embroiled in the country set with lethal consequences.
Nicely dated (written and set in the 1980s) but still remains fresh, sharp and very, very funny. Long may he stagger to his hind legs and be in awe of She Who Must Be Obeyed - the immortal Hilda.

[Beachlady · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Rumpole and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rumpole's grumpy, clever way to solve a mystery that includes no graphic sex or violence is a shock in this day of exploding bombs and assassins. I'm also currently into Daniel Silva and his Gabriel Allon stories where there seems to be just enough violence. I find myself lapsing into the Rumpole-ist style of writing this morning as I complete my Morning Pages. Onward to more Rumpoles.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle tonic of plain fun in covid-ridden and otherwise often distressing times. Of course, the warmth depends on Mortimer studiously ignoring the sad grottiness of most real crime. Readers can also depend on all these tales following a comfortable pattern, with Rumpole prevailing through a combination of logic and skilful exploitation of emotional weak spots, those weak spots often displayed by his fellow members of chambers at 3 Equity Court. No matter. Nor does the occasional flat or worn joke spoil the enjoyment, any more than the fact that some stories tread into sensitive areas of social concern in ways that may not wear well over the years. Most of all, aside from the humour and feeling of being in a safe harbour, there is Mortimer's considerable skill in drawing convincing portraits of the players' physical appearance and character with just a few telling paragraphs.

[Granny · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you remember the PBS series "Rumpole of the Bailey" starring Leo McKern, then here is the source material for that delightful program.

Rumpole is perhaps the most loveable curmudgeon in the literary realm. He is a barrister with no ambition whatsoever other than winning each case. He is married to Hilda, a daughter of a far more ambitious barrister turned judge, who looks at her husband with jaundiced eye as he lets opportunities for advancement pass him by.

But it's no nevermind to Rumpole, a connoisseur of cheap wines and fine English verse. He strides through life at his own pace, confounding adversaries like Judge "The Bull" Bullingham and quietly but gleefully throwing a wrench into the plans of anyone who would get in the way of him winning his case.

My poor words cannot adequately describe Rumpole and his delicious mischief, but if you read this collection, you'll be hooked.

This book includes the following short stories:
Rumpole and the Golden Thread
Rumpole and the Genuine Article
Rumpole and the Old Boy Net
Rumpole and the Female of the Species
Rumpole and the Sporting Life
Rumpole and the Last Resort

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another terrific collection. I still can't quite manage to wrap my head around how these are based on television episodes. The main distinguishing feature is the delightful narrative voice of Rumpole himself, and that's the one thing that wouldn't exist in the show. It's remarkable. I can imagine the other way around (turning stories into shows, with some great loss of tone!) but to have done it in this direction so successfully is remarkable.

There's a fun coup-de-theatre that Rumpole pulls off near the end which had me worried, but seeing the sheer number of volumes left quickly pacified me.

(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I feel like I should mostly read 3s, but of course I am biased in my selection and pick books I think I'll like, so mostly read 4s!)

[Daniel Bacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love John Mortimer's writing style in this series. His use of language is often surprising and always creative and original. The tone is somewhat satirical which perfectly matches the personality of the lead character, Horace Rumpole, a cynical old barrister practicing his trade at the Old Bailey. After reading several short stories and one novela, the plots become somewhat predictable. Even so, it's always a fun ride.

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid entry in the Rumpole series, although a couple of the stories seemed to go on for too long. But I particularly enjoyed the title story, in which Rumpole manages to win a case his client wanted to lose, and "Rumpole and the Last Resort," in which Rumpole's courtroom collapse and subsequent (apparent) death lead to the solutions of several problems, legal and otherwise.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't previously read Rumpole or seen the TV series. Rumpole is an aging barrister who is employed mostly for the defense. He is sarcastic, brilliant, cagy, and devoted to his clients. There are six stories in the collection and they are all enjoyable. If you haven't read any of John Mortimer's Rumpole series, do yourself a favor. They were written in the 80's but have aged very well.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Rumpole and the Genuine Article" - A fake painting, or is it? Won.
"Rumpole and the Golden Thread" - Rumpole in Africa. Won, but ended sadly.
"Rumpole and the Old Boy Net" - Brothel, politician, alumni loyalty. Won.
"Rumpole and the Female of the Species" - Women taking over 'men's jobs'. Won.
"Rumpole and the Sporting Life" - Gun murder/accident. Won.
"Rumpole and the Last Resort" - Won.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumpole is always a good read. He's crotchety and devious, but he goes about chambers and the court with heart and courage -- especially if the chips are down and the judge is a pompous blow-hard in need of a thwacking.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy a good Rumpole story, and this one is no different.

Sometimes though, Horace is a bit dim, and can be somewhat frustrating. Luckily, it usually turns out alright in the end, and it's comical on the way.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing read. Pushing a concept to its outer levels and leaving me with an unsatisfactory feeling and showing practically no development in style or content from John Mortimer's original "Rumpole of the Bailey".

[Rolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was curious to try one of these after learning that Rumpole was a prominent book and TV series in England a few decades ago. Holy cow, was this the wrong place to start. What an outdated paean to colonialism that’s trying to be charming.

[Ranette · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that a man is considered innocent until proven guilty is the golden thread of the law. However proving his client innocent in Africa gets him killed in the long run.

[Peter Sinfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great selection of Rumpole stories. Well worth the investment in time. Highly recommended.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the unabridged stories. I loved them.

[Mike Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

More amusing Rumpole stories. Always entertaining easy to read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0

[Nathan Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, the author manages to write characters with a sardonic feeling but likable as well. I can’t quite find a way to describe it. It makes me laugh and sometimes roll my eyes.

[Carla]

What can one say….this lawyer series is very funny and in audio, laugh-out loud funny. The poetry quotes alone are worth the price of admission.

[Ricky Balas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best series of books out there--I never tire of Rumpole! Pour me a glass of chateau Thames Embankment and let the good reading roll!

[Ian Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect.