Rumpole's Return - Hardcover

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.

Rumpole, that wily and somewhat curmudgeonly though lovable barrister whose motto is "never plead guilty," finds retirement in Florida rather boring. Living with his son and his pregnant daughter-in-law, as well as with "she who must be obeyed" (his wife, Hilda), Rumpole longs to return to the dampness of England and the chambers of the Old Bailey. When summoned back to assist the defense in a murder case, Rumpole finds a number of things not to his liking but promptly sets about to do the work, gets Hilda riled up, and endures other adventures. Robert Hardy, an experienced and much-lauded actor of stage and screen, does justice to this entertaining work; his voice characterizations are consistent, versatile, and nuanced. Rumpole fans should be pleased with this production; recommended for public libraries.
Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll., Lynchburg
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