32 BBC Radio full-cast dramas

Rumpole: A BBC Radio Collection

An irresistible collection of sparkling stories featuring John Mortimer's beloved comic creation 
 
Horace Rumpole is the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey. In these 32 dramas, arranged in order of broadcast, four distinguished actors don the wig and white band to portray our hero as he recalls his long, eventful career. 
 
Timothy West stars as the older Rumpole in eight cases in which he proves, despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary, that he is alive, well and as adept as ever at getting to the heart of crimes ranging from sexual assault to terrorism. He also has hopes of becoming a QC at last - but his marriage to She Who Must Be Obeyed is under pressure... 
 
Joining Timothy West for another seven legal adventures, Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Rumpole. We flash back to the 1950s, as he meets and marries Hilda, embarks on his first big murder case 'alone and without a leader', and defends clients including an aristocrat, a shoplifting clergyman and a gardener accused of blackmail. 
 
Returning as young Rumpole, Cumberbatch takes us through six more curious cases. It is 1964, and Horace takes on a new pupil - Phyllida Trant, the 'Portia of our Chambers' - only to find himself becoming smitten with her. Forced to consider the path his life has taken, he comes close to giving up the law... 
 
With the Sixties swinging, Julian Rhind-Tutt gives us a Rumpole in his prime, recounting ten tales which find the tireless defender swapping sides to appear for the prosecution; coming to the aid of a doctor accused of unprofessional conduct; and suffering the indignity of wrongful arrest. We leave him facing a life-changing decision: after many years of falling in and out of love with both women, will he finally leave Hilda to be with Phyllida? 
 
Also included is a special 90-minute Christmas episode starring Desmond Barrit, in which Rumpole indulges in a little seasonal, charitable blackmail and solves an audacious crime at the panto. 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Mortimer 
Adapted by Richard Stoneman 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie. 
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4 
Sax quartet version of Gershwin's 'They Can't Take That Away From Me' arranged by Julie Hodge and performed by 'Sax' (Luiza Beddoes, Kate Mylnar, Janine Ng and Julie Hodge) 
Pantomime music written by Neil Brand 
 
Cast 
Older Horace Rumpole - Timothy West/Desmond Barrit 
Young Horace Rumpole - Benedict Cumberbatch/Julian Rhind-Tutt 
Hilda - Prunella Scales/Joanna David 
Young Hilda - Jasmine Hyde/Cathy Sara 
Phyllida - Cathy Sara/Patience Tomlinson 
'Soapy Sam' Ballard - Michael Cochrane 
Claude Erskine-Brown - Nigel Anthony 
Fig Newton - David Shaw-Parker/Geoffrey Whitehead 
Bonny Bernard - Bruce Alexander/Nicholas Le Provost/Matthew Morgan 
Judge Bullingham - Christopher Benjamin/David Shaw-Parker/Stephen Critchlow 
Liz Probert - Elaine Claxton 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 between 25 December 2001 and 9 May 2018 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Rumpole's Return

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'A fruity, foxy masterpiece, defender of our wilting faith in mankind' Sunday Times 
 
Horace Rumpole is in a strange state that could only be described as a kind of air-conditioned purgatory: he has retired to Florida with his wife, Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed). It is safely assumed the Old Bailey hack's wig has been hung up for good. But when a rather unkempt civil servant is mixed up in the mysterious death of a minor aristocrat, Rumpole seizes the opportunity to escape a life of leisure. He is soon back in court (via a budget airline) to do battle once more with Judge 'Mad Bull' Bullingham.

Sir John Mortimer was a novelist, playwright and barrister. The first book featuring his most famous character, Horace Rumpole, was published by Penguin in 1980, and Mortimer went on to publish a dozen collections of Rumpole stories as well as a handful of novels, culminating in 2007 in RUMPOLE MISBEHAVES. He was knighted in 1998 for his services to the arts and died in January 2009.

Horace Rumpole - the rascally, Wordsworth-quoting Old Bailey hack - should be enjoying his retirement. Soaking unhappily in the Florida sun with his wife, Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed), it is safely assumed by all that Rumpole's wig has been hung up for good. But when a rather unkempt civil servant is mixed up in the mysterious death of a minor aristocrat, Rumpole seizes the opportunity to escape the life of leisure. He is soon back in court (via a budget airline) to do battle once more with Judge 'Mad Bull' Bullingham...

The Trials of Rumpole

'I thank heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole' Clive James 
 
Horace Rumpole, the irrepressible barrister fuelled by cigars, Tennyson, steak-and-kidney pud and the cooking claret from Pommeroy's wine bar, is back for further misadventures. Amid an unfortunate and temporary downturn in London crime, the Old Bailey Hack sits in Chambers (he never writes at home for fear of She Who Must Be Obeyed) and picks up his pen to recount six classic tales of his recent trials. Here he deals with, among others, a clergyman on a shoplifting rampage, a backstage theatrical murder, a villain with unfortunate sartorial taste and, worst of all, the possibility that he may have to hang up his wig and retire. 
 
'Rumpole, like Jeeves and Sherlock Holmes, is immortal' P. D. James

Horace Rumpole, the irrepressible barrister fuelled by cigars, Tennyson, steak-and-kidney pud and the cooking claret from Pommeroy's wine bar, is back for further misadventures. Amid an unfortunate and temporary downturn in London crime, the Old Bailey hack sits in Chambers (he never writes at home for fear of She Who Must Be Obeyed) and picks up his pen to recount six classic tales of his recent trials. Here he deals with, among others, a clergyman on a shoplifting rampage, a backstage theatrical murder, a villain with unfortunate sartorial taste and, worst of all, the possibility that he may have to hang up his wig and retire.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces

Desmond Barrit stars as Horace Rumpole in this full-cast, feature-length radio drama

John Mortimer was born on 21 April 1923. His father was a successful divorce lawyer, and was to be a considerable influence on his son's life. Schooled at Harrow, Mortimer went on to study law at Brasenose College, Oxford. On finishing his degree, he was called to the Bar in 1948 and entered his father's chambers. At first he followed his father and specialised in divorce cases, but he soon switched to criminal law, as he maintained that murderers and the like were nicer to work with than divorcing spouses. In 1966 he became a Queen's Counsel, and he continued to work as a barrister until 1979. A lifelong champion of free speech, he has argued for the defence in some of the most famous obscenity trials in Britain, including the one brought against the underground magazine Oz for its notorious 'School Kids' issue. John Mortimer started writing before he became a barrister. His legal career inspired his fiction, however, with his first radio play, The Dock Brief (1957) dealing with the subject of an ageing barrister who is asked to defend a man accused of murdering his wife. It won the Italia Prize and was adapted for the stage, television and a film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough. He also had great success with his autobiographical play A Voyage Round My Father, which ran in the West End starring Jeremy Brett and Alec Guinness. It was subsequently adapted for TV starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates. He first wrote about Rumpole in a BBC TV Play for Today called Rumpole of the Bailey. Centring on a lovable Old Bailey hack with a penchant for cigars and claret and a domineering wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed, the play was an instant hit, and in 1978 the first Thames Television series was aired under the same name, starring Leo McKern as Rumpole. It became hugely popular, and five more series followed. The first collection of Rumpole stories was published in 1978, and was followed by a further twelve volumes. His other novels include the trilogy of Titmuss novels, Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets, and he has also written three volumes of autobiography (Clinging to the Wreckage, Murderers and Other Friends and Summer of a Dormouse) and numerous TV and film adaptations, including Brideshead Revisited, Cider with Rosie and Tea with Mussolini. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998 in the Queen's birthday honours list. He died in 2009.

Desmond Barrit stars as Horace Rumpole in this full-cast, feature-length radio drama 
 
Rumpole has no special objection to Christmas - except that with the Old Bailey closed, he has no opportunity to exercise his skills in court. But over the course of one unusual holiday, he nonetheless manages to triumph in two very different cases... 
 
Dragooned into spending Christmas in Norfolk, at the home of one of Hilda's old schoolfriends, Rumpole is feeling less than festive. Chilly Coldsands Rectory does not offer much in the way of enjoyment - but a trip to the local church and a surprise encounter with an old acquaintance leads to a God-given opportunity to indulge in a little seasonal, charitable blackmail. 
 
A New Year outing to see Aladdin also provides more excitement than expected. The traditional British pantomime is one of Rumpole's favourite institutions, but he has a vague feeling that there's something odd about this particular production. A post-panto drink, some overheard remarks and a glance at the programme confirm his suspicions - and put him on the path to solving an audacious crime... 
 
Starring Desmond Barrit as Rumpole and Joanna David as Hilda, with Tim McInnerny as Donald Compton and Nigel Anthony as Fred Timson. 
 
Cast 
Horace Rumpole - Desmond Barrit 
Hilda Rumpole - Joanna David 
Rev Eric Longstaff - Oliver Ford Davies 
Donald Compton - Tim McInnerny 
Fred Timson - Nigel Anthony 
Phillida Erskine-Brown - Patience Tomlinson 
Judge Bullingham - Philip Voss 
Skimpy Simpson - Ioan Meredith 
Bonny Bernard - Bruce Alexander 
Detective Inspector Grimble - John Hartley 
Aladdin - Rebecca Lacey 
Denis Timson - Tom George 
Widow Twanky - Tilly Vosburgh 
Tristan - Lewis Reece 
Isolde - Lauren Bird 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Mortimer 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
Produced by Catherine Bailey 
Pantomime music written by Neil Brand 
 
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4

Two BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Rumpole: On Trial & Going for Silk

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best 
 
Rumpole on Trial 
Rumpole takes up the cause of young Bertie Timson, whose sole ‘crime’ seems to be playing football in the street. As he endeavours to defend our ancient freedoms, he becomes uneasy about exactly what his wife Hilda is up to in her continuing friendship with a high court judge. 
 
Going for Silk 
Having narrowly avoided an ASBO himself, Rumpole hopes to become a QC at last. But first he must turn his attention back to the Timson case, while also preparing to defend a young man charged with the murder of a prostitute. 
 
Timothy West stars as Rumpole and Prunella Scales as Hilda, with Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Michael Cochrane as ‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard. 
 
Cast and production credits: 
Written by John Mortimer 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
 
Rumpole on Trial 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 May 2008 
Horace Rumpole – Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole – Prunella Scales 
‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard – Michael Cochrane 
Bonny Bernard – Nicholas Le Provost 
Prosecutor Parkes – Roger May 
Madam Chair of Magistrates – Jillie Mears 
Graham Wetherby – David Holt 
Lars Bergman – Matthew Morgan 
Judge Bullingham – David Shaw-Parker 
Fig Newton – Geoffrey Whitehead 
 
Going for Silk 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 May 2008 
Horace Rumpole – Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole – Prunella Scales 
Bonny Bernard – Nicholas Le Provost 
Anna McKinnon – Jillie Mears 
Prosecutor Noakes – Matthew Morgan 
Police Doctor – Roger May 
Judge Barnes – Geoffrey Whitehead 
Graham Wetherby – David Holt 
Det Insp Belfrage – David Shaw-Parker

Four BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Rumpole: The Teenage Werewolf & other stories

Timothy West stars as Rumpole in these four fantastic radio dramas

Timothy West stars as Rumpole in these four fantastic radio dramas 
 
Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf 
Rumpole heads to the Home Counties to defend Ben, a teenager accused of sending emails deemed to be sexually harassing, and of an actual physical attack on a girl. 
 
Rumpole and the Right to Privacy 
Rumpole leaves the Old Bailey to defend a civil case: an editor of a local newspaper who is accused of breaching a successful businessman's right to privacy. 
 
Truth Makes All Things Plain 
If one man can be counted on to fight injustice and insist on a fair trial for everyone, whatever their circumstances, it is Horace Rumpole. So when the beautiful Tiffany Khan learns that her husband has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, she calls for his help right away. 
 
The Past Catches up with us All 
As he struggles to win justice for his client, Rumpole finds that his marriage to She Who Must Be 
Obeyed is, rather like his waistcoat, straining at the seams. 
 
Timothy West stars as Rumpole and Prunella Scales as Hilda, with Matt Smith as Ben, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Michael Cochrane as ‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by John Mortimer 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
 
Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 July 2006 
Horace Rumpole - Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole - Prunella Scales 
Hermione Swithin - Felicity Montagu 
Mr Beazley - Nicholas Le Provost 
Chris Swithin - Philip Jackson 
Ben Swithin - Matt Smith 
Judge Denis Wintergreen - Karl Johnson 
Adrian Hodinott - Sean Baker 
Felicity Halliday - Ellie Beaven 
 
Rumpole and the Right to Privacy 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 July 2006 
Horace Rumpole - Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole. - Prunella Scales 
Mr Rankin - David Shaw-Parker 
Claude Erskine-Brown - Nigel Anthony 
Liz Probert - Elaine Claxton 
Hugo Winterton - Anton Rogers 
Gervase Johnson - Stephen Critchlow 
Sir Mike Smedley - Kim Durham 
Mrs Justice Erskine-Brown - Joanna David 
 
Truth Makes All Things Plain 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 August 2007 
Horace Rumpole - Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole - Prunella Scales 
Judge Bullingham - Christopher Benjamin 
Tiffany Khan - Lily Bevan 
‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard - Michael Cochrane 
Bonny Bernard - Bruce Alexander 
Dr Mahmood Khan - Shiv Grewal 
Barrington Whiteside - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Will Timson - Ben Crowe 
Peter Plaistow - Christopher Scott 
Mrs Justice Templett - Joanna David 
Fred Sugden - Kim Durham 
Ian Antrim - Nigel Anthony 
 
The Past Catches up with us All 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 August 2007 
Horace Rumpole – Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole – Prunella Scales 
Claude Erskine-Brown – Nigel Anthony 
Fred Sugden – Kim Durham 
Dr Mahmood Khan – Shiv Grewal 
Will Timson – Ben Crowe 
Judge Bullingham – Christopher Benjamin 
Bonny Bernard – Bruce Alexander 
Barrington Whiteside – Geoffrey Whitehead 
Peter Plaistow – Christopher Scott

Four BBC Radio 4 dramatisations starring Timothy West

Rumpole: The Primrose Path & other stories

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these four delightful dramas featuring the wily barrister

John Mortimer (Author) 
 John Mortimer was born on 21 April 1923. His father was a successful divorce lawyer, and was to be a considerable influence on his son's life. Schooled at Harrow, Mortimer went on to study law at Brasenose College, Oxford. On finishing his degree, he was called to the Bar in 1948 and entered his father's chambers. At first he followed his father and specialised in divorce cases, but he soon switched to criminal law, as he maintained that murderers and the like were nicer to work with than divorcing spouses. In 1966 he became a Queen's Counsel, and he continued to work as a barrister until 1979. A lifelong champion of free speech, he has argued for the defence in some of the most famous obscenity trials in Britain, including the one brought against the underground magazine Oz for its notorious 'School Kids' issue. John Mortimer started writing before he became a barrister. His legal career inspired his fiction, however, with his first radio play, The Dock Brief (1957) dealing with the subject of an ageing barrister who is asked to defend a man accused of murdering his wife. It won the Italia Prize and was adapted for the stage, television and a film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough. He also had great success with his autobiographical play A Voyage Round My Father, which ran in the West End starring Jeremy Brett and Alec Guinness. It was subsequently adapted for TV starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates. He first wrote about Rumpole in a BBC TV Play for Today called Rumpole of the Bailey. Centring on a lovable Old Bailey hack with a penchant for cigars and claret and a domineering wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed, the play was an instant hit, and in 1978 the first Thames Television series was aired under the same name, starring Leo McKern as Rumpole. It became hugely popular, and five more series followed. The first collection of Rumpole stories was published in 1978, and was followed by a further twelve volumes. His other novels include the trilogy of Titmuss novels, Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets, and he has also written three volumes of autobiography (Clinging to the Wreckage, Murderers and Other Friends and Summer of a Dormouse) and numerous TV and film adaptations, including Brideshead Revisited, Cider with Rosie and Tea with Mussolini. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998 in the Queen's birthday honours list. He died in 2009.

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these four delightful dramas featuring the wily barrister 
 
Rumpole and the Primrose Path 
Rumpole exposes criminal practices at the nursing home where he was sent to recuperate after a heart attack, leaving him in dire need of claret, cheroots and good company. 
 
Rumpole and the Scales of Justice 
When Rumpole defends a senior policeman in court, his love for Shakespeare’s Othello and his old acquaintances in the south London criminal fraternity prove very useful. 
 
Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror 
Rumpole’s admiration for the integrity of the Old Bailey jury is legendary – but he is mystified when his most promising juror in a murder trial suddenly disappears… 
 
Rumpole Redeemed 
Invited to dinner at his local prison, Rumpole solves the conundrum of whether an ex-con can be reformed – while also seeking redemption himself. 
 
Timothy West stars as Rumpole, with Prunella Scales as Hilda, Michael Cochrane as Sam Ballard, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Sophie Thompson as Luci Gribble.

Three BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Rumpole: The Golden Thread & other stories

Three thrilling full-cast dramas starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as the irrepressible Horace Rumpole

Three thrilling full-cast dramas starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as the irrepressible Horace Rumpole 
 
Rumpole and the Golden Thread 
In Africa defending an old pupil in a murder trial, Rumpole is arrested. When Phillida arrives to bail him out, a spark between them is rekindled... 
 
Rumpole and the Official Secret 
Rumpole defends a civil servant accused of selling secrets and is embroiled in a wine fraud. Meanwhile, Phillida tells Rumpole she plans to leave her husband and asks him to keep it a secret, and Horace considers what that might mean. 
 
Rumpole and the Quality of Life 
Ballard’s wedding looms and Rumpole faces a life-changing decision about his own marriage. Hilda expects him to join her in Cornwall, but Phillida hopes he will leave to be with her at last… 
 
For fifteen years, Rumpole has fought, won and occasionally lost myriad cases – and fallen in and out of love with both wife Hilda and ‘the Portia of our Chambers’, Phillida Erskine-Brown. These three episodes leave us guessing until the very end – will Rumpole finally leave ‘She Who Must be Obeyed’ for Phillida? 
 
Julian Rhind-Tutt stars as Rumpole, with Jasmine Hyde as Hilda, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Cathy Sara as Phillida.

Rumpole: The Way Through the Woods & other stories

Julian Rhind-Tutt stars as Horace Rumpole in this sixth collection of courtroom dramas.

A sixth collection of captivating courtroom dramas, starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Horace Rumpole 
 
Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods 
Rumpole makes friends with a dog named Sir Lancelot, and finds himself defending a hunt saboteur who claims to be guilty of murder. But Horace is convinced that the true culprit is among the hunting fraternity. 
 
Rumpole for the Prosecution 
Rumpole’s personal commandment is ‘Thou Shalt Not Prosecute’ – but he breaks this rule to take on a private prosecution brought by a dead girl’s father. However, an obscure literary reference and a piece of evidence that doesn’t fit bring his defender’s instincts to the fore... 
 
Rumpole and the Quacks 
Temporarily indisposed, Rumpole consults a charming Indian doctor who later asks for Horace’s help when he is accused of molesting a patient. Meanwhile, Rumpole’s friendship with Phillida Erskine-Brown deepens as both their marriages hit a tricky patch. 
 
Julian Rhind-Tutt stars as Rumpole, with Jasmine Hyde as Hilda, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Cathy Sara as Phillida.

Rumpole of the Bailey

'Rumpole, like Jeeves and Sherlock Holmes, is immortal' P. D. James 
 
Horace Rumpole - dishevelled barrister at law, drinker of claret and smoker of cigars, inveterate quoter of Wordsworth and eternal defender of the underdog - is one of the greatest English comic characters ever created. This is the original volume of Rumpole stories, introducing us to the legal triumphs that first made the Old Bailey Hack's name, along with a host of choice villains, frequent forays to Pommeroy's wine bar and, of course, his formidable, magisterial wife Hilda, She Who Must Be Obeyed. 
 
'I thank heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole' Clive James 
 
'A fruity, foxy masterpiece, defender of our wilting faith in mankind' Sunday Times

I thank heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole.

Rumpole is worthy to join the great gallery of English oddballs ranging from Pickwick to Sherlock Holmes, Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.

Horace Rumpole, the old boy committed to defending the apparently indefensible, trusting of a jury, scornful of the law's pomposities, appears here in a new edition of the 1978 iconic Rumpole debut. 
 
This volume collects the much-loved stories 'Rumpole and the Younger Generation', 'Rumpole and the Alternative Society', 'Rumpole and the Honourable Member', 'Rumpole and the Married Lady', 'Rumpole and the Learned Friends' and 'Rumpole and the Heavy Brigade'.

Rumpole: On Trial & other stories

Julian Rhind-Tutt takes on the role of Rumpole in this fifth collection of cracking court cases

John Mortimer (Author) 
John Mortimer was born on 21 April 1923. His father was a successful divorce lawyer, and was to be a considerable influence on his son's life. Schooled at Harrow, Mortimer went on to study law at Brasenose College, Oxford. On finishing his degree, he was called to the Bar in 1948 and entered his father's chambers. At first he followed his father and specialised in divorce cases, but he soon switched to criminal law, as he maintained that murderers and the like were nicer to work with than divorcing spouses. In 1966 he became a Queen's Counsel, and he continued to work as a barrister until 1979. A lifelong champion of free speech, he has argued for the defence in some of the most famous obscenity trials in Britain, including the one brought against the underground magazine Oz for its notorious 'School Kids' issue. John Mortimer started writing before he became a barrister. His legal career inspired his fiction, however, with his first radio play, The Dock Brief (1957) dealing with the subject of an ageing barrister who is asked to defend a man accused of murdering his wife. It won the Italia Prize and was adapted for the stage, television and a film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough. He also had great success with his autobiographical play A Voyage Round My Father, which ran in the West End starring Jeremy Brett and Alec Guinness. It was subsequently adapted for TV starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates. He first wrote about Rumpole in a BBC TV Play for Today called Rumpole of the Bailey. Centring on a lovable Old Bailey hack with a penchant for cigars and claret and a domineering wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed, the play was an instant hit, and in 1978 the first Thames Television series was aired under the same name, starring Leo McKern as Rumpole. It became hugely popular, and five more series followed. The first collection of Rumpole stories was published in 1978, and was followed by a further twelve volumes. His other novels include the trilogy of Titmuss novels, Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets, and he has also written three volumes of autobiography (Clinging to the Wreckage, Murderers and Other Friends and Summer of a Dormouse) and numerous TV and film adaptations, including Brideshead Revisited, Cider with Rosie and Tea with Mussolini. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998 in the Queen's birthday honours list. He died in 2009.

Julian Rhind-Tutt takes on the role of Rumpole in this fifth collection of cracking court cases. 
 
Rumpole on Trial 
Suffering from toothache, Rumpole is in no mood for his client’s boring testimony or Justice Gwent-Evans’ impatience. But when he argues with the judge, he is warned in no uncertain terms about his future conduct. Soon, Rumpole finds himself on trial and facing the end of his career… 
 
Rumpole and Hilda 
Rumpole’s long-suffering wife Hilda (‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’) narrates a fascinating tale of murder and romance that Horace would prefer to remain untold, and gives Rumpole – and us – a glimpse of her true, passionate nature. 
 
Rumpole and Memories of Christmas Past 
Rumpole spends an unexpectedly rewarding Christmas in Norfolk; discusses the spirit of Christmas with the Mad Monk; and learns that the season of goodwill is shared by barristers and criminals alike. 
 
Rumpole and the New Year’s Resolutions 
Rumpole has an interesting encounter with Santa Claus at a Chambers Christmas party, finds himself on babysitting duty after a blackmail trial, and attends a traditional British panto – where he recognises a familiar face. 
 
Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Rumpole, Jasmine Hyde as Hilda and Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown. 
 
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.

Rumpole: The Age of Miracles & other stories

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Horace Rumpole in this fourth collection of dramatic court cases

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Horace Rumpole in this fourth collection of dramatic court cases 
 
Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation 
Erskine-Brown is working on a sordid ABH and affray case which allegedly occurred in a Soho night club. When he and Rumpole visit the disreputable scene of the crime, they meet Maurice Machin, the editor of the Daily Beacon, whose paper is being sued for libel. 
 
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles 
Hilda's distant relation, The Reverend Timothy Donkin, looks set to be defrocked as Canon of Lawnchester Cathedral unless Rumpole can convince an Ecclesiastical Court that adultery did not take place in the nearby Saint Edithna Hotel. 
 
Rumpole and the Tap End 
Tony Timson finds himself in hot water when charged with the attempted drowning of his wife April, while sharing a bath with her. Rumpole not only defends Tony, but also finds he must protect Judge Guthrie Featherstone QC, who upsets women everywhere with sexist pronouncements about their proper place in the tub.

Rumpole: The Sleeping Partners & other stories

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this third thrilling collection of court cases 
 
Rumpole and the Old Boy Net: With the help of his new pupil, Miss Phillida Trant, Rumpole must defend Mr Napier Lee, who is charged with blackmail. But the alleged victim of the blackmail went to public school with the defendant, and Mr Lee won't sneak on his old school chum... 
 
Rumpole and the Sleeping Partners: After a legal ball in the Savoy Hotel, Rumpole and Hilda argue about Rumpole's drunken behaviour and Rumpole decides to sleep the night on his sofa in chambers - strictly against the rules. But there he finds his colleague Erskine-Brown with Phillida Trant, 'working late'... 
 
Rumpole and the Portia of our Chambers: Rumpole comes close to giving up the law when forced to consider the path his life has taken by a combination of his attraction to his pupil Phillida, an unsettling case involving an Irish terrorist, and a visit from an old flame of Hilda's.

Rumpole: The Gentle Art of Blackmail & other stories

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young Horace Rumpole in this second collection of court cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young Horace Rumpole in this second stellar collection of court cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole 
 
Rumpole and the Man of God 
It is 1959, and Rumpole must defend a clergyman accused of shoplifting who, although he clearly did not commit the crime, is curiously reluctant to be cross-examined under oath. Meanwhile, Hilda (she who must be obeyed) has big news… 
 
Rumpole and the Explosive Evidence 
Rumpole defends a well-known safe blower and exposes the underhand behaviour of one Dirty Dickerson, a senior police officer who is quite prepared to tamper with evidence. 
 
Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail 
In 1964 Rumpole returns to Oxford, where he studied law, to defend a young gardener who is accused of blackmailing the Master of St Joseph’s College. Their friendship had provoked rumours of homosexuality – still illegal in those days – and the Master says he has been threatened with a public accusation. 
 
Rumpole and the Expert Witness 
Rumpole is asked to defend a GP, Dr Ned Dacre, who is accused of murdering his wife, Sally. The plot thickens when the local pathologist turns out to have history with Dr Ned…

Rumpole: The Penge Bungalow Murders & other stories

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking court cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole. 
 
Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders: 
It is the fifties, and two war heroes have been shot dead. Defending the suspect is deemed hopeless, so the case is handed to a novice. But the novice's superiors didn't count on the tenacity and wit of the young and hungry Horace Rumpole, as he defends the accused alone and without a leader for the very first time. This two-part adaptation of the novel by John Mortimer also marks the beginning of Rumpole's life-long liason with Hilda ("She Who Must Be Obeyed"). 
 
Rumpole and the Family Pride: 
We rejoin Rumpole and Hilda in the late 1950s, when they have been married for a year or two. Hilda's cousin lives with her husband, the 17th Baron Sackbut, in Sackbut Castle on the Yorkshire Moors. Hilda and Rumpole are invited to the castle when a body is found in the grounds. Meanwhile, in London, Rumpole defends a tramp who has confessed to a triple-murder. 
 
Rumpole and the Eternal Triangle: 
When Rumpole and Hilda attend a concert performed by The Casterini Trio, Rumpole is surprised to be approached by Elizabeth Casterini - the trio's beautiful violinist. But then the Trio's cellist, Tom Randall, is murdered. Elizabeth's husband is arrested, and Rumpole agrees to defend him at the Old Bailey. 
 
'a deliciously fun listen' - AudioFile Magazine

The Splendours and Miseries of an Old Bailey Hack

Rumpole

Maurice Denham stars as John Mortimer's famous creation Rumpole of the Bailey.

John Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was an English barrister, dramatist, screenwriter, and author.

Maurice Denham stars as John Mortimer's famous comic creation Rumpole of the Bailey. 
 
Defender of the underdog, friend of South London villains and scourge of QCs, much-loved barrister Horace Rumpole was first brought to life on television, and in 1980 BBC Radio 4 introduced him to the airwaves for a 13-episode series. 
 
In these delightful full-cast courtroom dramas, the claret-drinking, poetry-quoting lawyer recalls his colourful career at the Old Bailey, while being supported at home by the redoubtable Hilda ('She Who Must Be Obeyed'). From a disputed will case to a GP accused of murder, Rumpole must exercise all his talents as an advocate to fight for justice... 
 
Includes Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt, Rumpole and the Dear Departed, Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail, Rumpole and the Rotten Apple, Rumpole and the Man of God, Rumpole and the Defence of Guthrie Featherstone, Rumpole and the Show Folk, Rumpole and the Fascist Beast, Rumpole and the Case of Identity, Rumpole and the Expert Witness, Rumpole and the Course of True Love, Rumpole and the Perils of the Sea and Rumpole and the Age for Retirement. 
 
Among the supporting cast are Margot Boyd, Michael Maloney, Michael Elphick, Angela Thorne, Geoffrey Bayldon and Saeed Jaffrey. Duration: 6 hours 30 mins.

Charade

Charade by John Mortimer - the classic novel first published in 1947 
 
Its June 1944 in an English seaside resort and a shy young man has just joined an army film unit making a documentary about army training. While shooting a cliff-scaling exercise a sergeant plunges to his death. It seems like an accident, but the shy young man is not convinced. 
 
Like the bestselling Paradise Postponed, Charade is tremendous entertainment brought to life through a cast of gloriously eccentric and unforgettable characters. 
 
John Mortimer (1923-2009) was a novelist, playwright and barrister. Among his many publications are several volumes of Rumpole stories and a trilogy of political novels (Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained, and The Sound of Trumpets) featuring Leslie Titmuss. Sir John received a CBE in 1986 and a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998.

Its June 1944 in an English seaside resort and a shy young man has just joined an army film unit making a documentary about army training. While shooting a cliff-scaling exercise a sergeant plunges to his death. It seems like an accident, but the shy young man is not convinced. 
 
Like the bestselling Paradise Postponed, Charade is tremendous entertainment brought to life through a cast of gloriously eccentric and unforgettable characters.

John Mortimer In His Own Words

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, John Mortimer, creator of the much-loved Rumpole of the Bailey, talks about his life and career as a barrister, screenwriter and novelist. 
 
 The interviews included are: Desert Island Discs, first broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 January 1968 (featuring Roy Plomley); Parkinson, first broadcast BBC One, 31 October 1979 (featuring Michael Parkinson); Portrait, first broadcast BBC Two, 23 October 1989 (featuring Ludovic Kennedy) and In Touch, first broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 1998 (featuring Peter White). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Collected Stories of Rumpole

Horace Rumpole - witty, eloquent, dishevelled and cynical - is one of fiction's best-loved barristers-at-law. In these twenty classic tales, Rumpole battles through the Old Bailey, whether defending various members of an incompetent South London crime family, taking on haute-cuisine chefs and showfolk or mocking the pomposity of his own profession, all the while being held in check by his wife, Hilda: the wonderful, fearsome She Who Must Be Obeyed. 
 
These collected stories, in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time, are a definitive introduction to one of the wisest and wittiest characters in British comic writing and a reminder of what justice should really be about. With a new introduction by Sam Leith, former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph and contributor to the Evening Standard, Guardian and Spectator.

I thank Heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole

Rumpole is simply one of the great fictional characters of modern English literature

The best mock heroic fatty since Falstaff

John Mortimer (1923-2009) was a novelist, playwright and barrister. Among his many publications are several volumes of Rumpole stories and a trilogy of political novels (Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained, and The Sound of Trumpets) featuring Leslie Titmuss. Sir John received a CBE in 1986 and a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998. 
 
Sam Leith is the former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph, and the author of the novel The Coincidence Engine and three non-fiction books, of which the most recent was You Talkin' To Me? - Rhetoric From Aristotle to Obama. He writes regularly for the Evening Standard, Guardian, Prospect and the Spectator.

For the first time in Penguin Modern Classics, this is a new selection of some of the best moments in the trials of Horace Rumpole, fiction's most loved barrister-at-law. When not downing Château Fleet Street in Pommeroy's Wine Bar or held in check by She Who Must Be Obeyed, the Old Bailey hack can be found battling through the Law Courts with his formidable mixture of wit, eloquence, cynicism and scruffiness. And whether he is defending various members of the notorious and incompetent south London crime family, the Timsons, or mocking the pomposity and hypocrisy of his own profession, Rumpole is an amiably relentless reminder of what justice should really be about. These twenty stories serve as the definitive introduction to one of the wisest and wittiest characters in British comic writing, in all his shabby glory.

The Best of the Rumpole Stories

Forever Rumpole

Forever Rumpole - a hilarious new selection of the very best Rumpole stories by John Mortimer 
 
Horace Rumpole lives alongside Mr Pickwick and Bertie Wooster as one of the immortal comic characters in English fiction. With his curmudgeonly wit, his literary allusions, his disdain for personal ambition and his lack of pomposity, he has, in the words of the Daily Telegraph, 'ascended to the pantheon of literary immortals'. 
 
Forever Rumpole contains seven stories originally chosen by the author himself as his favourites, together with a further seven from the later period and the opening chapters of a Rumpole novel that Sir John was working on when he died in 2009. The book also includes a fascinating introduction by Ann Mallalieu, fellow lawyer and for many years Sir John's colleague in practice. 
 
'Rumpole, like Jeeves and Sherlock Holmes, is immortal' P. D James, Mail on Sunday 
 
'I thank heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole' Clive James, Observer 
Sir John Mortimer was a barrister, playwright and novelist. His fictional trilogy about the inexorable rise of an ambitious Tory MP in the Thatcher years (Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets) has recently been republished in Penguin Classics, together with Clinging to the Wreckage and his play A Voyage round My Father. His most famous creation was the barrister Horace Rumpole, who featured in four novels and around eighty short stories. His books in Penguin include: The Anti-social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole; The Collected Stories of Rumpole; The First Rumpole Omnibus; Rumpole and the Angel of Death; Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders; Rumpole and the Primrose Path; Rumpole and the Reign of Terror; Rumpole and the Younger Generation; Rumpole at Christmas; Rumpole Rests His Case; The Second Rumpole Omnibus; Forever Rumpole; In Other Words; Quite Honestly and Summer's Lease.

John Mortimer was a barrister, playwright and novelist. He was knighted for his services to the arts in 1998. He died in January 2009. 
 
Ann Mallalieu was the first female President of the Cambridge Union. She has practised at the Criminal Bar since 1970 and appeared frequently with John Mortimer. A Labour life peer, she was elected Peer of the Year by parliamentarians in 2004.

Over a period of thirty years, beginning in the late 1970s, John Mortimer wrote around eighty Rumpole stories (as well as four Rumpole novels). During that period, the world changed dramatically but the old boy remained the same throughout: committed to defending the apparently indefensible, trusting of a jury, scornful of the law's pomposities. He is truly one of the immortal comic characters in English fiction, alongside Mr Pickwick and Bertie Wooster. 
 
Forever Rumpole offers the perfect introduction for anyone lucky enough to be coming to Rumpole for the first time. It contains seven stories chosen by the author himself in 1993 as his favourites to that point, together with a further seven from the later period. It also contains a fragment of a Rumpole novel the author had just started when he died. With an introduction by fellow-lawyer Ann Mallalieu, a close friend of Sir John, Forever Rumpole offers the very best of Horace Rumpole.

Alison Plowden

Abigail Docherty

John Mortimer

Madame de Lafayette

Peter Wolf

Michael Butt

Amanda Whittington

Paul B. Davies

Friedrich Schiller

Michael Bryant

Kathleen Helme

Melody Grove

Roger Lloyd Pack

Meg Fraser

Alexandra Mathie

Louise Brealey

Michael Horden

Full Cast

A BBC Radio 4 Drama Collection

Nine gripping dramas that delve into the turbulent, thrilling history of the Tudor eraAffairs and assassinations. Conflict and chaos. Power and plots. The tumultuous Tudor period is one of the most iconic and fascinating chapters in British history. In these ten atmospheric dramas, we get a glimpse into the inner workings of Tudor England – and rediscover the key characters we have grown to love and hate. Featuring world-renowned actors, these gripping, historically accurate tales are packed with excitement.A Pattern of Tudors - the story of Cardinal Wolsey who built Hampton Court, and Henry VIII who took it from him.True and Lawful Queen - Katherine of Aragon’s refusal to divorce Henry VIII sparks a chain of events that leads to the Reformation.Black Queen to King’s Castle - the ghost of Anne Boleyn tells her own story of the events that led to her execution.The Babington Plot - Told from the perspective of the conspirators, this is an enthralling account of the 1586 plot to assassinate Elizabeth I and return England to Catholic rule under Mary, Queen of Scots.La Princesse de Clèves - a playful adaptation of Madame de Lafayette's classic novel of intrigue and love set in the 16th Century and following the dangerous liaisons of a beautiful young lady newly presented to Court.Gold’s Fool - the true story of how Queen Elizabeth I was misled by alchemists into believing that the Arctic black rocks of Baffin Island were rich in precious ore.Mary Stuart - we learn of the extraordinary relationship between Elizabeth I and her rival cousin, the imprisoned Scottish queen.Edward, Edward - seen entirely through the eyes of children, this shows how Edward VI, crowned king at the age of nine, finds himself powerless in a world ruled by adults.The Nine Days Queen - the tragic story of the trial of Lady Jane Grey. Crowned Queen of England in 1553 aged 16, she was imprisoned in the Tower nine days later, and was dead within a year.Among the stellar cast of these remarkable dramas are Phyllida Nash, Michael Hordern, David Troughton, Izzy Meikle-Small, Stephen Greif, Burn Gorman, Roger Lloyd Pack, Kathleen Helme and Melody Grove.© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

John Mortimer

Books by John Mortimer

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