Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders [Hardcover]

John Mortimer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2004

Horace Rumpole - cigar-smoking, claret-drinking, Wordsworth-spouting defender of some unlikely clients - often speaks of the great murder trial which revealed his talents as an advocate and made his reputation down at the Bailey when he was still a young man. Now, for the first time, the sensational story of the Penge Bungalow Murders case is told in full: how, shortly after the war, Rumpole took on the seemingly impossible task of defending young Simon Jerold, accused of murdering his father and his father's friend with a German officer's gun. And how the inexperienced young brief was left alone to pursue the path of justice, in a case that was to echo through the Bailey for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mortimer's beloved barrister, Horace Rumpole, at last tells the tale, hitherto mentioned only in passing, of the Penge Bungalow murders, the case that made his reputation as a defense lawyer decades ago. Simon Jerold stands accused of shooting his father, a bomber pilot during WWII, and an RAF buddy of his father's some hours after a quarrel in which Simon threatened his father with a German Luger. Simon appears headed for the gallows with perfunctory defense from C.H. Wystan, Rumpole's by-the-book head of chambers. Leave it to young Rumpole, an inexperienced "white wig," to see a chink or two in the prosecution's case and step up to Simon's defense, even at the risk of ruffling his supercilious superior's feathers. Subplots include the farcical circumstances that lead the romantically challenged Rumpole to become engaged to Wystan's daughter, Hilda (aka "She Who Must Be Obeyed"), and his introduction to the felonious Timson family, one of whose hapless members he defends in an unrelated burglary trial—which incidentally provides a clue to a key motive of one of the principals in the murder case. If a British airman circa 1942 committing treason in the belief that Hitler was going to win the war isn't entirely convincing, Mortimer (Rumpole and the Primrose Path) never fails to delight.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

For fans of this British crime fiction series, Rumpole is a must read. First introduced in a radio play 30 years ago, Rumpole has since populated 12 collections of Mortimer’s short stories as well as a television series. This novel-memoir (the first long piece of fiction starring Rumpole) relates the backstory of the ornery trial lawyer’s success, introduces readers to beloved characters, and answers questions about everything you ever wanted to know about Rumpole, including his predilections for wine, love, and criminal defense. "For anyone unfamiliar with this series," notes The New York Times Book Review, "here’s a charming way to begin."

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (October 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067091522X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670915224
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,684,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Get Justice in the Next World: In This World You Get, January 19, 2005

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders (Hardcover)

Horace Rumpole!!!! And it is a darn good thing for any defendant facing a criminal charge in London to have the rumpled, oft-scorned, and much condescended to Horace Rumpole take up your defense against all comers.

John Mortimer's latest Rumpole story, Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders takes us back to the great barrister's first big case. The story is told looking back after a conversation in chambers convinces Rumpole to write his memoirs. The story jumps back and forth between Rumpole's recollections of events interrupted only by the occasional (but highly amusing) bit of conversation with Hilda, she who must be obeyed, and his colleague in chambers.

It is the early 1950s and Rumpole is young, eager, and ready to begin his career as a trial lawyer (barrister). He has found himself working for C.J. Wystan, the head of his chambers (firm) and the father of an assertive young daughter named Hilda. Simon Jerrold has been arrested and accused of the murder of his father and one of his father's friends. Each of the deceased flew for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and this was of no small consequence for the national press. All the evidence available points to Simon as the murderer. A conviction seems a certainty to all, including Simon's lead defense attorney, Wystan. Wystan has selected Rumpole to act as a silent assistant after Hilda suggests for some unknown reason that Rumpole is a man with a future in the law. It should surprise no one that Rumpole does not bow down to the conventional wisdom concerning his client's guilt. The story takes us through the remarkable series of events through which Rumpole assumes control of the defense and takes the case through trial.

As always, Mortimer writes with wit and verve. Mortimer first describes the appearance of Wystan as one that made him think of a "lobster who had been snatched from a peaceful existence at the bottom of the sea and plunged into boiling water." Followed immediately by a slight retraction, "but I have no wish to be overly critical of my future father-in-law."

By taking us back to his first case as a callow, slender youth Mortimer has invigorated and fleshed out (no pun intended) Rumpole considerably. We first came to know Rumpole as an aging overweight, hen-pecked curmudgeon who adheres to obsolete concepts of justice and the presumption of innocence when all around him expediency and decorum prevails. Mortimer shows us flashes of this in Penge Bungalow. We see the character traits: the wit, sarcasm and sense of fair play in its formative stages. We also find out how the young Ms. Hilda Wystan became the infamous she who must be obeyed. It is clear that once Hilda set her mind on something she is not easily denied.

The beauty of the Penge Bungalow Murders is our glimpse of Rumpole as a young man. His character is immediately recognizable. His body may have changed but his inner-self has remained constant. As one of Rumpole's favorite authors once said in Merchant of Venice, "I never knew so young a body with so old a head."

Rumpole and Penge Bungalow Murders is an excellent book and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars terrific Rumpole legal thriller, October 31, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders (Hardcover)

Horace Rumpole looks back to just after graduating from Oxford to work his first legal case. Five decades ago Rumpole bit his acerbic tongue to defend a client Simon Jerold accused of a double murder, that of his father and a friend using a pistol taken from a deceased World War II German aviator. The evidence seems overwhelming and the legal fraternity shies away from defending the accused as no money can be made. Stunned by the reaction of his peers Rumpole dives into the defense with idealistic zeal.

Rumpole quickly learns that the jurisprudence system is a haven for corrupt barristers trying to squeeze pounds out of helpless and at times innocent criminals. He drops the gloves applying his saber wit on opponents as he defends his client with his belligerent in your face manner. He will use that technique for the next five decades defending the downtrodden against powerful opponents except Hilda Wyston who he has just met through her father and quickly becomes known as "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

This is a terrific Rumpole legal thriller that fans of the series will fully treasure due to the documenting of his first case referenced in many of the short stories. The deep support cast consists of "felons" from all sides of the legal systems, family members, and lest we forget the client. Though newcomers will feel aspects of the case and the protagonist's background seem missing (a tendency to rely on references in other books), readers will find pleasure with the character driven case that fans have wanted for seemingly almost as long a time as the hero looks back.

Harriet Klausner

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars Anyway.., April 11, 2006

By 

W. Phinizy (Fountain Valley, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders (Paperback)

July 2002 was the saddest month of all. Leo McKern -- the quintessential Rumpole -- had died after a long illness and was survived one day by Maurice Denham who played Rumpole on BBC radio. So it seems that the possibility of a revival of visual episodes of has declined to almost zero. Nonetheless, there was always the hope that Sir John Mortimer would pen the story that launched the whole series..

..and, after two collections of stories, it finally appeared.

So it was with some sadness that I took to Reading "The Penge Bungalow Murders" realizing it would probably be the last Mortimer would do for old Rumpole. My sorrow was compounded only slightly because it appears to me that Sir John phoned this one in. As others have pointed out, this episode seemed a somewhat flat and rather perfunctory effort; seemingly a work where all of the questions were being answered and the loose ends were being tied up.

We see how Rumpole became involved with the Timpsons. How he and Hilda became entwined (she played a far more important role in Rumpole's success and chambers' affairs than we could ever imagine), what an insufferable, doddering dolt her father and head of chambers, C. H. Wystan, was and how Horace developed his acerbic wit and contempt for the mediocrity passed off as "the finest traditions of the bar".

Why the five stars?

Because I cannot bear to rate it less. A Rumpole yarn, whether on or off, is a damned good read.

Like they say, the worst day fishing is better than the best day at work.

It was a marvelous run and sad that it probably has come to an end.