Daily Telegraph Obituaries (16 January 2009). "Sir John Mortimer: QC who took on liberal causes but found most fame as the creator of the fictional barrister Rumpole". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 6 September 2012. Mortimer suffered a stroke in October 2008 and died on 16 January 2009, aged 85. [28] Attributes [ edit ] This is a batch of humor to lighten the soul with a sprinkle of pathos for real world problems. Mortimer writes in a breezy, almost Wodehousian way, substituting the care-free, silly bachelor for a more curmudgeonly, sly near-retiree. But while Rumpole may be a bit grumpy with his colleagues and wife, and though he defends criminals, he is a thoroughly sympathetic character. Mortimer knows his boundaries and stays within them. He can also be relied upon to tell a satisfying tale competently. Mortimer adapted his television scripts into a series of short stories and novels starting in 1978. A series of anthologies and omnibus editions were also released.

I am sure the series has a lot of detail that appeals to the British reader, but it is also universal in its appeal. The UK book contained seven stories. The US version – titled A Rumpole Christmas – contained five stories. It omitted "Millennium Bug" and "Christmas Party") The "Schoolkids" Oz, Soho, and the Downfall of the "Dirty Squad" flashbak.com, accessed 2 November 2020. Whether Rumpole is in court or lighting up a cigar and quaffing a glass of Chateau Fleet Street at his favourite after-hours haunt, Pommeroy's Wine Bar, Rumpole is accompanied by an endearing supporting cast that is an integral part of the amusing, indeed often hilarious stories that Mortimer has produced - Guthrie Featherstone QC MP, the stiffly starched and prissy (yet often philandering) head of chambers; Claude Erskine-Brown, the slightly looser barrister who is head over heels in love with the only female member of chambers, the eloquent and deeply feminist Phillida Trant; Rumpole's wife, Hilda, the imposing "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed"; and Percy Timson, the patriarch of a widespread London family of low-level criminals whose bumbling failures are destined to keep Rumpole supplied with a steady stream of defense briefs for as long as he cares to work. The series about Horace Rumpole was originally a television series that aired in Britain. Later on, the early episodes were adapted into stories and novels. The stories are adapted from the episodes and the novels are adapted from different movies. Although, there have been some novels that were written only as novels. The episodes were written by John Mortimer (who is a barrister), as were the stories and novels. The series started in the year 1978, and was inspired by the “Rumpole of the Bailey” production that was a stand alone work. It aired in 1975, and serves as a pilot for the later series.

Mortimer's 2009 obituary in The Daily Telegraph confirmed that Rumpole was, in part, based on a chance meeting in court with James Burge QC: Some of Rumpole's clients feel that things would have been better for them if they had been found guilty and resent him for getting them off. [3] Mr Justice Vosper ( Donald Eccles) (Series 2): A humourless, elderly judge who does not like Rumpole. Hilarious brain candy guaranteed to take you away from the worries of the workaday world for a blissful all-too-short few hours. Highly recommended. Rumpole's Last Case (1987) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Four – 1987 – plus one additional story not used in the TV series)

Daniel, Anne (2003). "John (Clifford) Mortimer". Dictionary of Literary Biography. 271– via Literature Resource Center. The Best of Rumpole: A Personal Choice (1993) Contains seven Rumpole stories personally selected as favourites by John Mortimer. Henry Trench [17] ( Jonathan Coy): Albert's successor as the efficient but harried clerk of Chambers. Unhappily married, Henry is also an amateur dramatics enthusiast, frequently appearing in works by Noël Coward. Henry's wife is active in local politics and serves as a member and later mayor of their local borough council. Albert is called "Mr. Tree" by Henry in both his appearances in Series 1, but his last name is thereafter Handyside.Rumpole at Christmas (2009) A collection of seven Christmas-themed short stories – some first published in US or UK magazines Rumpole raises tensions with his American daughter-in-law Erica (Deborah Fallender) because of their differing views (such as her disapproval of his cross-examining a rape victim he believed to be lying). [12] His associates' dynamic social positions contrast with his relatively static views, which causes feelings between him and the others to shift over time. Dianne ( Maureen Darbyshire) (Series 1–6 and Special): The oft-seen but rarely heard Chambers secretary, and Henry's flame. She eventually leaves Chambers and marries.

Charade, Mortimer's first novel, Bodley Head, London (1947); Viking, New York (1986); ISBN 0-670-81186-6

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The book consists of loosely connected short stories from Rumpole’s POV. Rumpole’s wife, Hilda, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed, is a rather nebulous figure - we get much better descriptions of Rumpole’s colleagues, particularly one Guthrie Featherstone, Q.C.

Dennis Timson ( Ron Pember) (Series 4–7): Another member of the Timson clan who frequently requires Rumpole's services, either for himself or for a family member. Rumpole enjoys smoking inexpensive cigars ( cheroots), drinking cheap red wine and a diet of fried breakfasts, overboiled vegetables and steak and kidney pudding. Every day he visits "Pomeroy's", [1] a wine bar on Fleet Street within walking distance of the Old Bailey and his chambers at Equity Court, at which he contributes regularly to an ever-increasing bar tab by purchasing glasses of red wine of questionable quality, which he calls variously "Cooking Claret", "Pomeroy's Plonk", "Pomeroy's Very Ordinary", "Chateau Thames Embankment", or "Chateau Fleet Street". (The last two terms are particularly derogatory: the subterranean Fleet river, which flows below Farringdon Street in a culvert and crosses under one end of Fleet Street at Ludgate Circus, served as the main sewer of Victorian London, [2] while the Thames Embankment in central London was a reclamation of marshy land that, until the 1860s, was notably polluted). Horace Rumpole is a marvellous character: something of a curmudgeon who regularly quotes poetry, talks with a rude wit, and enjoys inappropriate, occasionally even grotesque, humour. Although he's hard to love, he has a great integrity, and heartily dislikes hypocrisy and smugness. I'd certainly enjoy sharing a bottle of wine with him at Pomeroy's Wine Bar. Ultimately Rumpole becomes an endearing and sympathetic character, and that is down to the splendid writing. John Mortimer writes with the same deft touch as P.G. Wodehouse and is a consummate storyteller.Contains all six short stories in the 1978 collection "Rumpole of the Bailey"; all six short stories in the 1979 collection "The Trials of Rumpole" and the 1980 single-story novel "Rumpole's Return" His Honour Judge Roger Bullingham ( Bill Fraser) (Series 1–4 and Special): "The Mad Bull", Rumpole's most notorious courtroom enemy. Noted for his intense dislike of defending barristers in general, and of Rumpole in particular.