Horace Rumpole - witty, eloquent, dishevelled and cynical - is one of fiction's best-loved barristers-at-law. In these twenty classic tales, Rumpole battles through the Old Bailey, whether defending various members of an incompetent South London crime family, taking on haute-cuisine chefs and showfolk or mocking the pomposity of his own profession, all the while being held in check by his wife, Hilda: the wonderful, fearsome She Who Must Be Obeyed.

These collected stories, in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time, are a definitive introduction to one of the wisest and wittiest characters in British comic writing and a reminder of what justice should really be about. With a new introduction by Sam Leith, former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph and contributor to the Evening Standard, Guardian and Spectator.

These collected stories, in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time, are a definitive introduction to one of the wisest and wittiest characters in British comic writing and a reminder of what justice should really be about.


About the Author

John Mortimer (1923-2009) was a novelist, playwright and 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 CBE in 1986 and a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998.

Sam Leith is the former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph, and the author of the novel The Coincidence Engine and three non-fiction books, of which the most recent was You Talkin' To Me? - Rhetoric From Aristotle to Obama. He writes regularly for the Evening Standard, Guardian, Prospect and the Spectator.

Reviews
I thank Heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole -- Clive James
Rumpole is simply one of the great fictional characters of modern English literature -- Marcel Berlin * Sunday Times *
The best mock heroic fatty since Falstaff -- Alan Coren



Book Information
ISBN 9780141198293
Author John Mortimer
Format Paperback
Page Count 656
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 447g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 28mm