A Rumpole Christmas: Stories

by John Mortimer

Overview

"Rumpole is one of the immortals of mystery fiction."
-San Francisco Chronicle

Of the late Sir John Mortimer's many beloved characters, it is widely agreed that Horace Rumpole was his greatest fictional creation. Here, collected in book form for the first time, are five delightful tales that capture the beleagured barrister at his grumpy, yet warm-hearted best.

Rumpole isn't particularly fond of Christmas Day-he finds it has a horrible habit of dragging on as She Who Must Be Obeyed leads him through the usual rituals. But at least the criminal fraternity rarely takes a holiday. Whether it's a suspicious Father Christmas, or an unseasonably nasty murder trial, there's always something wonderfully unlawful to liven up Rumpole's dull holiday plans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143117919
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/26/2010
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John Mortimer is a playwright, novelist, and former practicing barrister who has written many film scripts as well as stage, radio, and television plays, the Rumpole plays, for which he received the British Academy Writer of the Year Award, and the adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. He is the author of twelve collections of Rumpole stories and three acclaimed volumes of autobiography.

Editorial Reviews

…a charming collection of previously published stories…Whether he's drinking yak's milk on a health farm and foiling a false accusation or tricking an ex-con into philanthropy, these cases simply melt in the warm glow that is Rumpole.
—The Washington Post

Kristi Lanier

As this fine holiday collection shows, Mortimer (1923–2009) could tell lovely tales that end with a gentle punch. Each of the five stories highlights English barrister Horace Rumpole's quirky personality, his love of food and drink, and life with his formidable wife, Hilda (aka “She Who Must Be Obeyed”). But most of all, each illustrates Rumpole's sense of justice and commitment to the law as well as his dry wit. As usual, Rumpole overshadows plots that often focus on the barrister trying to ignore the holiday. “Rumpole and Father Christmas” suggests that even a career criminal can get the holiday spirit. A businessman's past is used to secure funds for a church in “Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces.” The most timely is the twisty “Rumpole and the Christmas Break,” about a murdered professor and an Islamic student with a religious vendetta against her. This is a perfect stocking stuffer for Mortimer fans. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Collected here for the first time in book form are five Christmas-themed Rumpole of the Bailey short stories. Horace Rumpole is not fond of the holidays, as everyone seems to get a break from work except him, because crime never takes a vacation. Fans who mourned Mortimer's death earlier this year will be thrilled, but smaller libraries may get by without it.

Library Journal