John Mortimer

Horace Rumpole, the irreverent, iconoclastic, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister at law, is among the most beloved characters of English crime literature....

Back in the harness after his abortive retirement to Florida, Rumpole glories in the mushroom pie, rainy day life of the Old Bailey. Here he spars with some old familiars like the venomous Judge Bullingham, and makes the acquaintance of some fresh foes. Six stories...

In this collection of six witty short stories, the courageous and corpulent barrister, Horace Rumpole, takes on both animal and human rights. And for the first time, Rumpole’s formidable wife, Hilda—better known as She Who Must Be Obeyed—tells a story of her own...

Known as “The Bailey Hack” for his chain smoking, the irrepressible Rumpole is engaged to defend a church vicar who is accused of theft and whose only defense for now is “divine intervention”....

In this collection of stories, Rumpole continues to juggle the vagaries of the law, the ambiguities of crime, and the contradictions of the human heart....

After ten straight losses under the satanic Judge Bullingham, Rumpole decides it’s time to hang up his wig - permanently. But when he reads of the Notting Hill Gate Underground murder, he goes from being bored with his new life, to just plain homesick. So, Bullingham notwithstanding, Rumpole...

Timothy West stars as Rumpole in these four fantastic radio dramas Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf Rumpole heads to the Home Counties to defend Ben, a teenager accused of sending emails deemed to be sexually harassing, and of an actual physical attack on a girl. Rumpole and the Right to Privacy...

ASBOs may be the pride and joy of New Labour, but they don't cut much ice with Horace Rumpole....

Rumpole often speaks of the great trial which revealed his talents as an advocate and made his reputation down at the Bailey when he was still a young man....

In these witty and comic stories, Horace Rumpole takes on a variety of clients and activities. He, of course, brings each case to a successful end, all the while quoting poetry and drinking claret....

Rumpole isn't particularly fond of Christmas; he finds it has a horrible habit of dragging on as he and She Who Must Be Obeyed go through the usual rituals in Froxbury Mansions....

In the dark days of the war on terror, only one man can be counted on to fight injustice, defend the innocent, and insist on a fair and decent trial for all....

In the first of six witty short stories, 60s-something English barrister, Horace Rumpole, takes on the younger generation both at home and in the hallowed courtroom—while offending his esteemed colleagues and his draconian wife, Hilda...

The irrepressible, audacious defence barrister Horace Rumpole is back with seven marvelous stories by John Mortimer....

In this work Horace Rumpole returns to delight us with seven new cases....

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole. Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders: It is the '50s, and two war heroes have been shot dead. Defending the suspect is...

There's a new wind blowing in this dazzling collection of new Rumpole stories....

We last left Rumpole in his hospital bed after his sudden collapse in court. Now our hero finds himself in the Primrose Path nursing home - or a hospice as he persists in describing it....

The irrepressible, audacious defence barrister Horace Rumpole whose court scenes are proverbial, and whose home is ruled by Mrs Rumpole, is back in these short stories by John Mortimer....

Horace Rumpole is back on the defense, as irreverent, as iconoclastic, as claret-swilling, poetry-spouting, impudent, witty, and cynical as ever....