Book Review: Rumpole Rests His Case (2002)
John Mortimer wrote Rumpole Rests His Case after a hiatus of six years away from Rumpole stories. Taking into account the television scripts and the short story collections, Mortimer has been writing about this character since the late 1970s. And the one thing fans and detractors would have to agree on is that he is utterly consistent. Rumpole is the same charismatic, charming character. The plots turn on the same style of points of law, helpful coincidences and plonk-inspired deduction. The stories touch on the same themes of hypocrisy, humor and a certain humanity. And yet there’s enough freshness to the stories, that even if you’ve read many or all of the Rumpole stories up to this point, you’ll probably not get tired of this.
In short, if you liked the earlier stuff, you’ll like this. If you hated the old stuff, you won’t find much to enjoy.
Count me in with the fans. If I were to describe the tone of the experience of reading a collection of Rumpole stories, I think the best single word to use would be “comfortable.” It’s a horrible cliché to say, but I think this is one of the few cases where it’s true to say that settling down to read a Rumpole collection really is like sitting down with an old friend.
The short stories in this collection are mostly standalone although a few plot strands can be seen running through several tales. Rumpole’s determination to keep smoking his small cigars in his office chambers will not be new to fans. The revelation of Soapy Sam’s previous life as a punk rocker, on the other hand, is probably something that would have familiar readers taking a double take at. It’s to Mortimer’s credit that both the familiar and the new slot in very easily, and even things that would appear to be completely out of character still fit in.
While the character of Rumpole has not aged appreciably since his introduction almost 25 years ago, the stories themselves are keeping up to date with several “ripped from the headlines” style plot lines. I appreciated seeing Mortimer’s take on, say, asylum seekers placed right next to standard stories of Rumpole solving a murder.
I hate repeating myself, but I think it bears repeating: if you’ve liked the previous Rumpole stories, then you’re almost certain to enjoy these. The familiar atmosphere of the Rumpole tales is here, but there are enough differences to keep long time readers from becoming bored. And if you’re new to the series, then this is as good a place as any to get started.
This review was originally posted on April 21, 2007.
