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Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer
Book Summary InformationAuthor: John Mortimer Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2005-10-25 ISBN: 0143036114 Number of pages: 224 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow MurdersBook Review: "Looking back down the long corridor of history." Summary: 5 Stars
Horace Rumpole's greatest triumph came a mere eighteen months after he was called to the bar, when he represented the defendant in the Penge Bungalow Murders, "alone and without a leader." In John Mortimer's "Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders," we learn the details of how a nervous and inexperienced barrister managed to pull off a completely unexpected legal victory. Unfortunately, success often has its price. At the time that Horace was reaching for the professional brass ring, he was also being stalked by the daughter of his head of chambers, the pushy and manipulative Hilda Wystan. Little did Rumpole foresee that the very woman who arranged for him to participate in the case that made his reputation would also become his ball and chain, known forever after as "She Who Must Be Obeyed."
Now that he is a veteran of the Old Bailey, Rumpole has decided to write his memoirs. He intends to include the Penge Bungalow affair as one of his most gratifying successes. Rumpole proudly recounts how he saved a terrified twenty-one year old man named Simon Jerold from "the great engine of the criminal law [that] was intent on driving him towards a grim execution shed." Simon stood accused of shooting his father, Denis "Jerry" Jerold, and Charlie Weston, both former bomber pilots with the RAF during World War II. If he were to be found guilty, Simon would be sentenced to death by hanging.
Simon's brief was entrusted to the head of chambers at 4 Equity Court, C. H. Wystan (father of the aforementioned Hilda), who declared that proving Simon innocent was well nigh impossible. At Hilda's suggestion, Wystan allowed Rumpole to act as his junior; his job was to take notes and look up points of law, but under no circumstances was he to act on his own or express his opinions. However, Rumpole was never one to slavishly obey his superiors. Since he believed in the presumption of innocence, Rumpole decided to examine the evidence thoroughly and objectively. Helped by the industrious clerk, "Bonny" Bernard, Rumpole used his keen powers of observation, skillful interrogation of witnesses, and a budding knowledge of blood spatter (later to become his special area of expertise) to uncover the truth.
"Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders" is hilarious and satirical, but it is also a serious look at the travesty that the criminal justice system can become in the hands of incompetent and lazy practitioners. What also makes this book a great treat for Rumpole aficionados is that it traces the roots of his affection for cigars, Pommeroy's Wine Bar (with its "non-vintage Chateau Thames Embankment"), and greasy food, such as bacon, sausage, and eggs. Even in the early years, Rumpole enjoyed nourishment for the mind as well as the body, and he frequently consulted his Oxford Book of English Verse, a constant companion since he was a schoolboy. Rarely was he at a loss for a pertinent literary quotation. Mortimer even treats us to some inside information about young Horace's "affaires d'amour" which, alas, invariably ended in disaster. Rumpole's greatest passion, of course, has always been battling irascible judges and arrogant prosecutors. From the beginning of his long tenure in the Old Bailey, Rumpole labored tirelessly on behalf of his clients, including the Timsons, a family of petty criminals whom we meet here for the first time. This terrific novel has laugh-out-loud humor, intriguing points of history and the law, beautifully delineated characters, compelling courtroom drama, and delightful dialogue. It is a celebration of the life and times of one of the most amusing, admirable, and irreverent individuals ever to grace the pages of fiction.
Summary of Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow MurdersThe Rumpole renaissance continues to build, and now the beloved barrister?s many followers have a special reason to rejoice: a sensational full-length Rumpole novel that at last relates the oft-mentioned but never revealed story of Rumpole?s first case, the Penge Bungalow affair. Looking back half a century into a very different world, Rumpole recalls a man accused of murdering his father and his father?s friend with a pistol taken from a dead German pilot. It was this trial and its outcome that put Rumpole on the map and shaped him into the cantankerous defender of justice that readers know and love. This is a must-read for every Rumpole fan and a compelling invitation to new readers.
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