Showing results by author "John Mortimer" in All Categories

Horace Rumpole, the irreverent, iconoclastic, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister at law, is among the most beloved characters of English crime literature. He is not a particularly gifted attorney, nor is he particularly fond of the law by courts if it comes to that, but he’d rather be swinging at a case than bowing to his wife Hilda, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.

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.

ASBOs may be the pride and joy of New Labour, but they don't cut much ice with Horace Rumpole - he takes the old-fashioned view that if anyone is going to be threatened with a restriction of their liberty then some form of legal proceeding ought to be gone through first. When one of the Timson children is given an ASBO for playing football in the street, Rumpole soon realizes something fishy is going on.

'Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods': Rumpole makes friends with a dog named Sir Lancelot and finds himself defending a hunt saboteur who claims to be guilty of murder. 'Rumpole for the Prosecution': Rumpole’s personal commandment is ‘Thou Shalt Not Prosecute’ - but he breaks this rule to take on a private prosecution brought by a dead girl’s father. However, an obscure literary reference and a piece of evidence that doesn’t fit bring his defender’s instincts to the fore....

Rumpole defends Charles Hearthstoke against charges of keeping bawdy houses, in the form of his chain of massage parlors. The case has become quite a scandal since many customers were prominent members of the community and, to Rumpole's astonishment, paid with credit cards. Guthrie Featherstone, who sought a massage for an injury, now thinks that may be identified as one of the patrons, and Rumpole cunningly arranges for him to preside at Hearthstoke's trial.

When Simeon Simcox, a socialist clergyman, leaves his entire fortune not to his family but to the ruthless, social-climbing Tory MP Leslie Titmuss, the Rector's two sons react in very different ways. Henry, novelist and former 'angry young man' turned grumpy old reactionary, decides to fight the will and prove their father was insane. Younger brother Fred, a mild-mannered country doctor, takes a different approach, quietly digging in Simeon's past, only to uncover an entirely unexpected explanation for the legacy.

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.

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. The much loved stories were adapted from his scripts for the hugely popular TV series of the same name.

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 deemed hopeless, so the case is handed to a novice. But the novice's superiors didn't count on the tenacity and wit of the young and hungry Horace Rumpole.

An irresistible collection of sparkling stories featuring John Mortimer's beloved comic creation: Horace Rumpole is the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey. In these 32 dramas, arranged in order of broadcast, four distinguished actors don the wig and white band to portray our hero as he recalls his long, eventful career.

Horace Rumpole - cigar-smoking, claret-drinking, Wordsworth-spouting defender of some unlikely clients - often speaks of the great murder trial which revealed his talents as an advocate and made his reputation down at the Bailey when he was still a young man. Now, for the first time, the sensational story of the Penge Bungalow Murders case is told in full: how, shortly after the war, Rumpole took on the seemingly impossible task of defending young Simon Jerold.

Leo McKern is Horace Rumpole! Here he reads about the life and trials of the eccentric barrister, famous for his inestimable knowledge of blood stains, blood groups and forgery by typewriter. Witty and cynical as ever, Horace Rumpole will once again delight listeners with his irreverent behavior and legal triumphs. Will he and his longtime client Percy Timson both be forced to retire, one to sunny climes, the other to jail?

In this engaging collection of stories, Rumpole continues to deftly juggle the vagaries of law, the ambiguities of crime, and the contradictions of the human heart in his death-defying performances on behalf of justice. The irreverent, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister takes on suspect connoisseurs in the art world, journeys deep into the throbbing heart of Africa, dabbles in some feminist politics, decides the countryside is a very dangerous place, and incurs the wrath of his wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole.

While Rumpole defends a union activist accused of manslaughter, Hilda creates her own union and goes on strike as Rumpole's cook because of his unpredictable and frequent late hours. Rumpole is under pressure to win his case and negotiate a proper labor settlement with “She Who Must Be Obeyed”.

Horace Rumpole—who never prosecutes, whose fame rests on an infinite knowledge of blood and typewriters, whose court scenes are proverbial, whose home is ruled by Mrs. Rumpole (“She Who Must Be Obeyed”)—is back on the defense, as irreverent, as iconoclastic, as claret-swilling, poetry-spouting, impudent, witty, and cynical as ever.

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, contrary to New Labour's new anti-terrorism laws. Rumpole's wig may be yellowing at the roots, his gown might be in tatters, but the oldest inhabitant of 4 Equity Court has no use for the word 'retirement'.

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best. Rumpole takes up the cause of young Bertie Timson, whose sole ‘crime’ seems to be playing football in the street. As he endeavours to defend our ancient freedoms, he becomes uneasy about exactly what his wife Hilda is up to in her continuing friendship with a high court judge.

Rumpole again defends a member of the Timson clan on a charge of possession of stolen goods - namely, he is caught with a garage full of expensive wine. Rumpole is concerned that Timson's explanation that he purchased the wine from some unknown individual he met in a pub will not go down well with Mr. Justice Graves, who has heard these stories many times before.

Julian Rhind-Tutt takes on the role of Rumpole in this fifth collection of cracking court cases. Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Rumpole, Jasmine Hyde as Hilda and Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown. A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.