The Transfer

by Thomas Palmer

Six new tales featuring everyone’s favorite barrister, Horace Rumpole—disheveled, polemical, and immensely fond of cigars, Wordsworth, and Château Thames Embankment. He once again takes centre stage in these delightful mysteries. Delicious characters such as Rumpole’s wife, Hilda (otherwise known as She Who Must Be Obeyed) and philandering colleague Claude Erskine-Brown accompany the cantankerous barrister as he visits a snooty restaurant and engages in a battle of wills over his adored mashed spuds; takes the unaccustomed role of prosecutor; and ventures—unwillingly—onto a ship where he confronts, of all things, a detective novelist. Deftly written, sparkling with wit, and touching lightly on serious concerns about the British legal system, Rumpole à la carte is a six-course delight.

Contents: Rumpole à la carte — Rumpole and the summer of discontent—Rumpole and the right to silence—Rumpole at sea— Rumpole and the quacks—Rumpole for the prosecution

Genres: Crime

402 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

THOMAS PALMER is an amateur naturalist, photographer, conservation advocate, and the author of The Transfer (1983) and Dream Science (1990). He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and lives in Milton, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[K. Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

an extremely well-written, engaging, and taut narrative set in south florida of the early '80s. it would have made a terrific movie in its day.

oddly, the 1982 edition's protagonist is ray hula, but in 1983's editon, his name was changed to len ovas.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based in Florida and with some quirky characters I expected something a little different, but this was your basic run-of-mill drug smuggling adventure tale. No real surprises, not particularly compelling.