Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

*Starred Review* One of the longest-running jokes in series fiction has been Horace Rumpole's oft-repeated reference to his triumph in the Penge Bungalow case, which he defended in the Old Bailey "alone and without a leader." Fans long tantalized by references to the great legal case of the postwar years now can have a novel-length bath in it. Rumpole, shocked that the newbies in chambers have never heard of this case (they are even a little vague about the identity of Churchill, he feels), commits it to memoir. Mortimer thus gives us two Rumpoles here: the singularly acerbic old Rumpole, still moving through Chambers and the Old Bailey, but also wryly commenting on young "white wig" Rumpole--acerbic, fond of quoting Romantic poets, yes; but also ambitious ("craven," old Rumpole calls it); and very nervous. A lot of mysteries are cleared up along the way: for example, how the criminal family, the Timsons, first fell into Rumpole's lap; how his wife, Hilda ("She Who Must Be Obeyed"), first darkened his door; and the origin of the term "Chateau Thames Embankment." The Penge Bungalow case itself is a rip-snorter: two RAF fliers living next to each other in bungalows right after World War II are both murdered with a German pistol; the accused is the son of one of the victims. Masterful characterization and a spellbinding plot, filled with the arcane lore and intrigues of the Old Bailey, make this one a special treat for devoted Rumpoleans. Connie Fletcher
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Horace Rumpole - cigar-smoking, claret-drinking, Wordsworth-spouting defender of some unlikely clients - often speaks of the great murder trial which revealed his talents as an advocate and made his reputation down at the Bailey when he was still a young man. Now, for the first time, the sensational story of the Penge Bungalow Murders case is told in full: how, shortly after the war, Rumpole took on the seemingly impossible task of defending young Simon Jerold, accused of murdering his father and his father's friend with a German officer's gun. And how the inexperienced young brief was left alone to pursue the path of justice, in a case that was to echo through the Bailey for years to come.

Horace Rumpole - cigar-smoking, claret-drinking, Wordsworth-spouting defender of some unlikely clients - often speaks of the great murder trial which revealed his talents as an advocate and made his reputation down at the Bailey when he was still a young man. Now, for the first time, the sensational story of the Penge Bungalow Murders case is told in full: how, shortly after the war, Rumpole took on the seemingly impossible task of defending young Simon Jerold, accused of murdering his father and his father's friend with a German officer's gun. And how the inexperienced young brief was left alone to pursue the path of justice, in a case that was to echo through the Bailey for years to come.

John Mortimer is a novelist, playwright and former practising 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 - a character as brilliant as Rumpole. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998.