The Anti-social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole - a delightful novel starring John Mortimer's iconic character

'One of the great comic creations of modern times' Evening Standard

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. Not that Hilda agrees, of course, but she's too busy completing her memoirs to dissuade him from taking an interest when one of the Timson children is given an ASBO for playing football in the street. And pretty soon he realizes something fishy is going on. Why are the residents pursuing their vendetta against the Timson boy quite so strongly? Could they have a sinister reason for not wanting him on their street?

John Mortimer's hilarious Rumpole novel, which fans of Sherlock Holmes and P.G. Wodehouse will love, sees the magician of the Old Bailey at his unpredictable and brilliant best.

Sir John Mortimer was a barrister, playwright and novelist. His fictional trilogy about the inexorable rise of an ambitious Tory MP in the Thatcher years (Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets) has recently been republished in Penguin Classics, together with his autobiography Clinging to the Wreckage and his play A Voyage round My Father. His most famous creation was the barrister Horace Rumpole, who featured in four novels and around eighty short stories. His books in Penguin include: The Anti-social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole; The Collected Stories of Rumpole; The First Rumpole Omnibus; Rumpole and the Angel of Death; Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders; Rumpole and the Primrose Path; Rumpole and the Reign of Terror; Rumpole and the Younger Generation; Rumpole at Christmas; Rumpole Rests His Case; The Second Rumpole Omnibus; Forever Rumpole; In Other Words; Quite Honestly and Summer's Lease.

About the Author
John Mortimer is 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. Sir John received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998.

Reviews

Praise for Rumpole and the Reign of Terror:

'Rumpole is back, as gloriously seedy as ever. Mortimer's divine hero is one of the few fictional immortals of our time' The Times

'Written with Mortimer's customary aplomb and an infectious enjoyment' Elizabeth Buchan, Sunday Times

'A fine comic creation. A figure who represents something important: the defence of liberty against the arrogance of power' Scotsman

Book Information
ISBN 9780141030647
Author John Mortimer
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 200g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 15mm