About book Rumpole And The Penge Bungalow Murders (2005)
Returned to an old friend as the audio book reading continues. I am a huge fan of the character of Horace Rumpole, the cantankerous old barrister who thrives on saying--under his breath of course--all the things we'd like to say to pompous lawyers, judges, and various other people that tend to act far more important than they really are.This time around, Rumpole finally gets around to telling us about the case that put him on the map--the Penge Bungalow Murders. Longer than most Rumpole stories, Moritmer interrupts the narrative several times to tell other stories along the way, which helps pads things out a bit. It takes a little getting used to at first, but Moritmer is amazingly good at blending the storier together without making it seem like he's interrupting. In lesser hands, the digressions would have felt out of place.Life for young Rumpole wsa a bit touch and go at first, it seems. He's stuck on lesser cases till the future She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, daughter of the head of Chambers, finds a way to get this young lawyer a chance at the big time--second chair on an important murder trial. There's only one problem--Rumpole is to be seen and not heard. This goes about as well as you might expect and soon he's in trouble with the judge, his boss, and holds the life of a young man in his hands as he's forced to go it alone. And even if he wins, which is unlikely, he's going to lose, career over before it starts. What to do?Start cracking wise, that's what.Mortimer deftly evolves Rumpole from an uncertain junior to a man capable of standing up to authority, growing in confidence even as he grows in girth. The only problem with this is that for a lot of the book, Rumpole is not the character we're used to, so the amount of rip-roaringly funny insults is reduced, though not completely eliminated. He's still the Rumpole we know and love, he's just a little less vocal about it.Doing a Year One story, to borrow a comic book term, can be dangerous. But Mortimer's planned this out well and executes it just about perfectly. The seducing(?) of Rumpole by Hilda is particularly well done as are the present day cameos of the regular supporting cast. And now we know the true story of how Rumpole got to be associated with the bungling crime family, the Timsons.I should also note that Bill Wallis did an admirable job voicing Rumpole, no small feat given that he will always be Leo McKern to just about everyone who's a fan. Changing voices like a good narrator, Wallis's gravelly Rumpole works very well and I am definitely a fan of his reading style. This is a great book, whether you read it or listen to it, for both fans of Rumpole and courtroom style adventures. (Library, 03/08)Trebby's Take: Highest possible recommendation!
It took me awhile to get into this book, but about halfway through it captured my interest. I had no previous exposure to this series of books so it took me awhile to become familiar with the characters. At first I was put off by the British stuffiness that permeates the narrative. But after awhile it was apparent that the story was making fun of that stuffiness. The story centers around a young defense attorney (Horace Rumpole in early career) who is an assistant to an older more experienced attorney defending a double murder suspect. The older lead attorney believes that it's a hopeless case so the best they can do is refrain from irritating the Judge or jury. He plans to do this by not asking needless questions. The defendant is unhappy with this passive defense, fires the lead attorney and hires the young and inexperienced Rumpole to defend him. Rumpole to his credit has wanted to ask questions that could lead to some discrepancies in the prosecution's case, but he has no specific plan of how to save his defendant from the gallows. (Apparently Great Britain still had capital punishment in the late 1940s.)As is true in many similar stories (a la Perry Mason) it seems that the best detective work takes place during the trial. Shouldn't the gathering of evidence take place before the trial? Well, in murder trial mysteries, that's not the way it's done.Toward the end of the book the reader learns how Rumpole became engaged to be married. It's a cute story, but hardly a romance. It is my intention to read or listen to at least one murder mystery per year in order to add diversity to my reading list. So this may be it for me this year. Below is the review from PageADay's Book Lover's Calendar that got me interested in this book. ORIGINSFor those of us who have been following the irascible barrister Horace Rumpole these many years both on television and in print (12 story collections are out now), John Mortimer has at last gratified our curiosity not only about the oft-cited Penge Bungalow murder case that made Rumpole’s reputation, but also about such crucial matters as how he first came to represent his most reliable clients, the Timsons; and how he met and married “She Who Must Be Obeyed,” Hilda Rumpole. If none of this makes sense to you, go find a Rumpole book, any Rumpole book, and get ready to smile.RUMPOLE AND THE PENGE BUNGALOW MURDERS, by John Mortimer
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Rumpole of the Bailey is one of the most beloved characters in crime fiction for many reasons. He says a lot of the things we’d like to say, he has a rebellious streak that helps him win cases, he always fights for the underdog, and he never compromises with the powers-that-be. In this the only novel-length story about Rumpole, we see how he began, right after passing the bar and finding himself at Equity Court, hoping to build his legal career. Hilda Wystan, she who later becomes She Who Must Be Obeyed, is the daughter of head of chambers, and takes a liking to him while he is taking a liking to Daisy Sampson and recalling a number of other young women he has been drawn to. Unfortunately for Rumpole but fortunately for his fans, he is fatally oblivious to what Hilda is up to.Rumpole shows no signs of having any kind of great career ahead of him, so he’s grateful for having a case of petty crime thrown his way. This is his introduction to the Timson family, with their many branches of professional criminals with clear-cut rules about proper behavior in their profession and fair play for the victims of their various schemes. The Timson family become a career-long source of legal work after Rumpole loses his case and Uncle Cyril is sent away for two years. As the head of the clan puts it, no one has ever worked so hard for them, nor been so eloquent on their behalf. Thus is a partnership born.The other case proves tougher, but Rumpole’s client, Simon Jerold, has a few lucky breaks beginning with the removal of the lead barrister from the case and a dogged researcher in Bonny Bernard. Rumpole is left to conduct the case without a leader, and provides one surprise after another, including a few for himself.The story is set in the years after World War II, when soldiers were finding their way in the peacetime world, and living out the consequences of choices made under wartime pressures. Rumpole is one of them, but he is here in every way the Rumpole of the Bailey we have come to know and love in short stories. Rumpole here is well established as the constantly irreverent and incorrigible barrister for the downtrodden.
—Susan Oleksiw
Three words: jolly good fun! I haven't read any John Mortimer before and I will add his Rumpole books to my list of Books To Save For A Rainy Day When One Needs Cheering Up, along with the Horatio Hornblower series by CS Forester. Rumpole is writing his memoirs and reminisces on the first big case in his career, the Penge Bungalow murders. The son of a returned World War II pilot is accused of two murders, that of his father and his father's airforce buddy. He claims innocence! Only Rumpole is determined to see justice done...alone and without a leader! Also we learn how he becomes engaged to "She Who Must be Obeyed".This isn't a book that's going to change your life or anything but it is a very pleasant amusement. Unless you only read gritty, hardboiled American fiction in which case you won't care for it all.
—pinknantucket
For the width and breadth of his career, Rumpole has often mentioned his most famous case, the Penge Bungalow Murders, when he went “alone and without a leader” to defend a murderer whom everyone else thought was guilty. Finally, as he realizes that none of the other barristers in his chambers knows the details of the case, he decides to record them in his memoirs for the world (and we lucky few who read them) to discover. A few thoughts: As usual, this case is full of humor springing from Rumpole’s willingness to call out ridiculousness when he sees it. I love the comments he makes both to the judge trying the case and to his lead counsel, who is more concerned with how things look than whether the client gets off. Not only does this case reveal the details of Rumpole’s greatest victory, but it also tells us the story of how he came to be married to “She Who Must Be Named,” the wife he pretends to disdain. Just like everything else in his life, she manipulates him into it. We also get to see Rumpole’s first interactions with the Timpsons, a clan of thieves who provide Rumpole with regular work throughout his career. As would become the usual case with the Timpsons, Rumpole loses the case. Mortimer’s impression of the British legal system isn’t very kind at all. There’s a clear sense that the court regularly sacrifices people on the alter of proper manners, and that Rumpole stands in the way of such awfulness. Last, I like the way Mortimer refuses to wrap things up in a nice bow, preferring to allow our heroic barrister to establish reasonable doubt but notPerry Mason-esque innocence.A fine addition to the Rumpole line, and well worth reading. I recommend reading The Trials of Rumpole first, if not other books, because many of the threads from that collection find their way into this one.
—Brendan
