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Read The First Rumpole Omnibus (1984)

The First Rumpole Omnibus (1984)

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4.31 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
014006768X (ISBN13: 9780140067682)
Language
English
Publisher
penguin

The First Rumpole Omnibus (1984) - Plot & Excerpts

I have been a fan of Horace Rumpole for many years and I re-read the books on a regular basis. Even when you know what happens the stories are still good reading and I often notice little things that I missed on previous readings. This omnibus contains 'Rumpole of the Baily', 'The Trials of Rumpole' and 'Rumpole's Return'. The first two consist of six short stories each and the third is a novel though it does contain more than one case.'Rumpole of the Bailey' was the first of the Rumpole books and contains a couple of the most iconic stories 'Rumpole and the Younger Generation' in which one of the younger members of the Timson family (that famous family of South London villains)is in the dock for a crime that maybe he didn't commit. In this story we learn that Rumpole is sixty eight and still a practicing barrister though he is writing his memoirs and looking back on his chequered career. From there on the chronology of the later stories can be a little hit and miss but the stories themselves are never less than entertaining.The other story in this first book which to my mind shows the best of Rumpole himself is 'Rumpole and the Alternative Society'. Here Rumpole relives some of his life as RAF ground staff during the war and falls slightly in love with his client and her lifestyle. This story has a poignant tinge to it which shows Rumpole in a reflective mood about life, love and poetry.The second volume in this omnibus edition is 'The Trials of Rumpole' and of the six stories it contains I think my favourite is 'Rumpole and the Showfolk' which has a really good twist at the end though it does rather leave Rumpole feeling he stepped into a lift just after the lift has gone. This case takes place in Grimble - that dour northern town which is the setting for some of Rumpole's cases which are not set in and around London. The third book in this volume 'Rumpole's Return' is a novel which shows Rumpole trying to accustom himself to retirement in Florida with his son Nick and daughter in law Erica after ten disastrous defeats at the hands of Judge Bullingham. He doesn't last very long and a letter from Phyllida Erskine-Brown in his chambers soon draws him back to London and the Old Bailey and a murder trial. But first he conducts an obscenity trial in Grimble - and fails dismally. The murder case itself requires Rumpole's son to do some sleuthing in Florida - which he carries out admirably well and provides the evidence Rumpole needs to help him win the case and frustrate a plan by Ken Cracknell - the newest recruit to Rumpole's chambers. After this success all plans for retirement are off the agenda.There is, to me, something intensely loveable in Horace Rumpole and his sometimes acrimonious relationship with 'She Who Must Be Obeyed' AKA Hilda Rumpole. He claims not to understand her when in fact they both understand each other very well apart from a few mutual misunderstandings. They are admirably suited in fact. Rumpole is always searching for justice especially when he believes his client innocent in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He is a radical lawyer as Phyllida Erskine-Brown describes him to someone who claims to be but isn't really.This volume is excellent value and provides many hours of reading for the Rumpole fan and for those coming fresh to the character.

Very entertaining, and a bit darker than I expected (from the little I remember of the T.V. show, I went in assuming that Rumpole would be defending penny ante criminals rather than murderers and rapists). Good for the most part, but the last few stories went off the rails a bit with everyone assuming he was losing his edge. With him not realizing until much later what people were saying about him and what they were doing in anticipation of/reaction to his retirement, he really did seem like he was losing his edge. Guess it'll improve, though, because there's at least one more omnibus.

What do You think about The First Rumpole Omnibus (1984)?

This was absolutely glorious. Just delightful. "As I always say, murder is nothing more than common assault, with unfortunate consequences." "He stands up with all the eager self-confidence of a rabbit with a retiring disposition caught in the headlights of an oncoming car." "so that the unfortunate Guthrie often arrived at Chambers looking less like a suave and successful Q.C... than a man who spends his nights watching over a dynamite factory in which all the employees are allowed to smoke.""It was rather as if a heretic, dragged before the Inquisition, had been told he'd just won a holiday in the Bahamas."Mortimer is obviously deeply influenced by Wodehouse, and his Rumpole--short, fat, careless with money, conjoined half in war, half wedlock with She Who Must Be Obeyed (in which relationship there actually is a profound affection built out of security that we catch glimpses of), always spouting poetry, always defending and saying, "there, but for the grace of God, goes Rumpole"--his Rumpole, seems actually to be a character with deep, Christian virtues (hear me out). He is not a superficial Christian--he is not even a Christian, I don't think--as Soapy Sam Ballard is a superficial Christian, and he revolts against the hypocrisy of such a life. His life, however, is one of fierce grace: he always defends, he never pleads guilty, and he fights tooth and nail to give his (often villainous) clients a second chance at life. He has a deep terror and loathing of ever condemning, which is deep-rooted enough to prevent his career from ever advancing, and his love of life (Pomeroy's "Chateau Fleet Street" Claret, small cigars, roaring fire and great poetry) are as deeply Puritanical (in the early, teach your dog to knock the hats off of bishops, delight in beer and making love to your wife manner of Puritans) as we could ever hope to emulate. This, combined with his wry cynicism, distaste of judges, Holmes-like intelligence and Wilde-like wit, and his deep knowledge of human nature that doesn't displace his compassion for people make him one of my all-time favorite literary characters. The fact that he quotes poetry that I don't know doesn't hurt.
—Jesse Broussard

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