Book Review: Rumpole and the Primrose Path (2003)
At the end of the previous book, Rumpole Rests His Case, we were left with a Rumpole who was clearly dying — giving his final summing up from his hospital bed to a room full of fellow patients. But the beginning of Rumpole and the Primrose Path brings a Rumpole on the road to recovery, finding an interesting mystery while still confined to his hospital room. Of the death of his fictional creation Inspector Morse, author Colin Dexter said that he didn’t kill him; he simply let Morse die. Somehow I don’t think John Mortimer is ready to let go of Rumpole just yet.
The fictional universe inhabited by Rumpole is a strange place. Ever since the series began in the late 1970s, Rumpole has been on the cusp of retirement. But as we reach ever further into the 21st century, Rumpole hasn’t seen to have significantly aged. (It should be noted that it was back in 1980 that Mortimer first utilized the “Rumpole returning from retirement/illness” plot line.) Some fans may find this bemusing. I actually find it very entertaining. The anachronistic Rumpole living in a world where his old-fashioned Chambers has both a website and an image consultant provides amusement for those of us who have been following his adventures for some time.
In this particular collection of short stories, Rumpole sees himself slowly working back to full strength after the heart attack he suffered at the end of the last book. Paying as much attention to medical advice as he does to judges and instructing solicitors, he leaps back into the swing of things, annoying his coworkers and defending the apparently indefensible.
The stories here follow the usual pattern that Mortimer has developed over the years. Rumpole is given what appears to be an utterly hopeless case (alternatively he may be forced to have a leader or for some other reason isn’t the chief defender). The themes brought up by the case will be mirrored either in his dealings with his fellow members of chambers or in his relationship with She Who Must Be Obeyed (his wife, if you didn’t know). Rumpole will discover some missing element, which turns the main plot on its head. The jury will then decide whether Rumpole has produced enough reasonable doubt. The jury’s decision will neatly temporally coincide with the resolution of the subplot.
It may seem like I’m criticizing the Rumpole stories by reducing them to their constituent elements but I’m not. I enjoy the Rumpole stories, and I enjoy Mortimer’s formula. There is usually enough variation to keep each story fresh. Although I must say that in this particular collection Mortimer one too many times kept the reader from following the trail of the mystery by withholding some crucial fact until the mystery’s revelation.
In any case, it isn’t always the mystery that is the fun part. Sometimes, it’s the journey. Whether it’s the humor (at one point a very matter-of-fact Rumpole interviews a stripper in the middle of her floor routine) or the hints of the autobiographical (Rumpole fleetingly refers to learning the law in his youth from an “old, blind law tutor”; John Mortimer’s father was a blind barrister and a strong influence on his son), there’s a lot to enjoy. But despite my praise, I am not sure if I’d recommend this to someone unfamiliar with the Rumpole canon. Some of the stories are a little too formulaic and the mysteries themselves are weaker than what Mortimer has produced in the past. It’s a fun, nostalgic good time, but long-time fans will probably appreciate it more than new-comers can.
This review was originally posted on June 21, 2007.
