The First Rumpole Omnibus: Rumpole of the Bailey/The Trials of Rumpole/Rumpole's Return

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Fans of the novel find the shift in time to be an interesting change to the series. They liked the way that terrorism is the subject that is being talked about. It helps to make the novel even more entertaining, and it makes some of the other characters feel tension and stress as a talking point that he can work into his story. There is a twisting and turning plot that keeps the story moving and the readers guessing what will happen next. Some found that the way that Mortimer talks of the legal system was interesting, and was not bogged down in details. Albert is called "Mr. Tree" by Henry in both his appearances in Series 1, but his last name is thereafter Handyside. He is asked what he will be doing that day. The reply? “Go on asking distasteful questions.” Does he want to relax and sit around? No! He says, “I don’t want to take it easy.” He states, “Everyone is worth defending!” He is willing to oppose the conventional and set rules in the support of justice. He is not flashy, goes by his principles and appears at times gruffer than he really is. While he speaks of his wife as “she who must be obeyed”, there is a tenderness that lies at the core of their relationship. We watch and observe, rather than simply being told. Actions speak more than words. A&E Home Video released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 between 2004 and 2006. It was initially released in season sets then on 28 February 2006, they released Rumpole of the Bailey a 14-disc box set with all 42 episodes. Play for Today: The Evolution of Television Drama, Irene Shubik, Manchester University Press, 2000, p. 178

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.

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His cigar smoking is often the subject of debate within his Chambers. His peers sometimes criticise his attire, noting his old hat (a battered Homburg), imperfectly aligned clothes, cigar ash trailing down his waistcoat and faded barrister's wig, "bought second hand from a former Chief Justice of Tonga" (or the Windward Islands: Rumpole is occasionally an unreliable narrator). Shubik, Irene (2000) [1975]. Play for Today. The evolution of television drama (2nded.). Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-5687-1. There have been seven collections that have presented previously published Rumpole stories. These comprise three volumes of an "Omnibus" series that each gathered together three previously issued sets of stories into a single book, three books that each presented a collection of tales drawn from across the broad canon of Rumpole short stories and one volume of Christmas-themed stories that had each been previously published in a magazine rather than in a Rumpole book.

Horace Rumpole, the irreverent, iconoclastic, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister at law, is among the most beloved characters of English crime literature. He is not a particularly gifted attorney, nor is he particularly fond of the law by courts if it comes to that, but he'd rather be swinging at a case than bowing to his wife Hilda, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. Mr Justice Gerald Graves ( Robin Bailey) (Series 4–7): Another in a long line of judges who dislikes Rumpole's courtroom theatrics. Privately referred to by Rumpole as "Mr. Justice Gravestone", and once referred to as "Mr. Injustice Death's Head". Originally merely Judge Graves, elevated to high court status in the series 6 episode "Rumpole at Sea."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: Regina v. Rumpole (1981) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories specially written for the 1980 BBC Radio series – plus adaptation of the script for the 1975 one-off film for BBC TV's Play for Today Series)

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. Robert McCrum, Mortimer Tribute, The Observer, p. 29, 18 January 2009 McCrum, Robert (18 January 2009). "Accidental barrister who wielded his wit to share life's big joke". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009 . Retrieved 9 April 2013. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/100790. ISBN 9780198614111. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) When Rumpole of the Bailey returned for its fourth series in 1987, Marion Mathie took over as Hilda when Peggy Thorpe-Bates retired because of poor health. [30] Locations [ edit ] The son of Reverend Wilfred Rumpole and his wife Alice, and born at Dulwich, [5] [6] Rumpole attended "Linklater's" (a fictional minor public school) [7] and studied law at either Keble College [8] or the fictional "St Joseph's College", Oxford, [9] coming away with "a dubious third" (Oxford then awarded fourths, so a third is equivalent to a 2:2). Rumpole was called to the bar at the "Outer Temple" (a fictional Inn of Court, named on the analogy of the Inner Temple, where John Mortimer was called, and the Middle Temple).The Summer of a Dormouse: A Year of Growing Old Disgracefully (autobiography), Viking Penguin, London (2000); ISBN 0-670-89106-1; Viking Press, New York (2001); ISBN 0-670-89986-0 Simon Farquhar (December 2009). "Rumpole of the Bailey". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. I am sure the series has a lot of detail that appeals to the British reader, but it is also universal in its appeal. 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.

Dot Clapton ( Camille Coduri) (Series 7): The new Chambers secretary after Diane leaves. A friendly chatterbox, especially in contrast to the quiet Diane. The seven series of the programme and the Rumpole's Return special episode are available on DVD and as part of a single DVD box set, published by Fremantle Media. The Play for Today ( The Confession of Guilt) is also available on DVD, released separately by Acorn Media. 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" He has sometimes been cited wrongly as one of the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial defence team. [15] He did, however, successfully defend publishers John Calder and Marion Boyars in a 1968 appeal against a conviction for publishing Hubert Selby Jr.'s Last Exit to Brooklyn. [7] He assumed a similar role three years later, this time unsuccessfully, for Richard Handyside, the English publisher of The Little Red Schoolbook. [7] In total, seven series of Rumpole of the Bailey were made from 1978 to 1992, each consisting of six episodes. A special two-hour film, Rumpole's Return, was made and aired in 1980, between the 2nd and 3rd series. The author, John Mortimer, occasionally appeared as an extra.Awarded a CBE in 1986, he was made a knight bachelor in the 1998 Birthday Honours. [27] Death [ edit ]