Margins
Rumpole of the Bailey book cover 1
Rumpole of the Bailey book cover 2
Rumpole of the Bailey book cover 3
Rumpole of the Bailey
Series · 21
books · 1978-2009

Books in series

Rumpole of the Bailey book cover
#1

Rumpole of the Bailey

1978

These six short stories introduce all the lovable (or not so lovable) characters from the delightful Rumpole series. Horace Rumpole, the irreverent, iconoclastic, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister at law, is among the most beloved characters of English crime literature. He is not a particularly gifted attorney, nor is he particularly fond of the law by courts if it comes to that, but he'd rather be swinging at a case than bowing to his wife Hilda, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. In this first title of the popular series featuring Rumpole, all of the major characters who occupy the Rumpole stories make their introductions: the sneaky, slightly effeminate Erskine-Brown, the bumbling Guthrie Featherstone and various and sundry other lawyers and clerks whose lives weave in and out of these stories. These six stories include: 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.
The Trials of Rumpole book cover
#2

The Trials of Rumpole

1979

The iconoclastic Horace Rumpole returns in a collection of six tales in which the irreverent barrister takes on a half-dozen memorable cases
Rumpole's Return book cover
#3

Rumpole's Return

1980

Horace Rumpole is supposedly enjoying his well-earned retirement basking in the Florida sunshine. But a colleague’s casual request for advice on a difficult case sends him hurriedly back across the Atlantic……
Rumpole for the Defence book cover
#4

Rumpole for the Defence

1982

Horace Rumpole is the lovable, irreverent, claret-swigging, poetry-spouting criminal lawyer immortalized on TV. By the author of "Rumpole and the Golden Thread" and "In Character".
Rumpole and the Golden Thread book cover
#5

Rumpole and the Golden Thread

1983

Horace Rumpole, whom the nation has taken to its collective bosom, continues to deftly juggle the vagaries of law, the ambiguities of crime and the contradictions of the the human hearth in his death-defying performances on behalf of justice. Here he takes on the con-o-sewers of the art world, journeys deep into the throbbing heart of Africa, dabbles in some female politics, decides the country is a very dangerous place, and incurs the wrath of Hilda... Rumpole and the genuine article—Rumpole and the golden thread—Rumpole and the old boy net—Rumpole and the female of the species—Rumpole and the sporting life—Rumpole and the last resort
Rumpole's Last Case book cover
#6

Rumpole's Last Case

1987

Rumpole is on the case again with several interesting cases of murder and suspicious doings passing through chambers.
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles book cover
#7

Rumpole and the Age of Miracles

1988

Horace Rumpole, a British barrister, handles cases involving libel, fraud, adultry, and attempted murder
Rumpole à la Carte book cover
#8

Rumpole à la Carte

1990

Six new tales featuring everyone's favorite barrister, Horace Rupole—disheveled, polemical, and immensely fond of cigars, Wordsworth, and Chateau Thames Embankment. "One of the immortals of mystery fiction" (San Francisco Chronicle), Mortimer's Rumpole has also been featured on the popular PBS series, "Mystery!"
Rumpole on Trial book cover
#9

Rumpole on Trial

1992

As Rumpole wends his way from court to wine bar and to the matrimonial home in Froxbury Mansions, listeners find their hero jousting with the Devil as he defends eight-year-old Tracy Timson against the dire threats of the local authority, is wooed by a beautiful violin player, watches Sam Ballard peer into the future, and appears before the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Bar Council.
Rumpole and the Angel of Death book cover
#9

Rumpole and the Angel of Death

1995

In Mortimer's latest collection of Rumpole stories, the comic, courageous, and corpulent "great defender of muddled and sinful humanity" is joined by a winning cast of villains and victims in tales whose wry humor and sparkling wit deftly send up the British legal system. Contents: “Rumpole and the Model Prisoner” “Rumpole and the Way Through the Wood” “Hilda’s Story” “Rumpole and the Little Boy Lost” “Rumpole and the Rights of Man” “Rumpole and the Angel of Death”
Rumpole Rests His Case book cover
#11

Rumpole Rests His Case

2002

Contents: Rumpole and the old familiar faces Rumpole and the remembrance of things past Rumpole and the asylum seekers Rumpole and the Camberwell Carrot Rumpole and the actor laddie Rumpole and the teenage werewolf Rumpole rests his case
Rumpole and the Primrose Path book cover
#12

Rumpole and the Primrose Path

2003

With Rumpole Rests His Case, legions of fans welcomed back the curmudgeonly London barrister they had loved for years and they are eager for more. The six new stories in Rumpole and the Primrose Path find Horace Rumpole despite a heart attack that left him at death's door in the previous volume deftly parrying everything from the admonitions of his wife, Hilda, to the vagaries of his legal colleagues and their new director of marketing, Luci. With her cell phone, corporate jargon, glossy brochures, and plans to give their chambers a new image, Luci presumes Rumpole is soon to expire, and has been planning his memorial service. But the witty and irreverent Rumpole, sharp as ever, is far from hanging up his wig! Contents: “Rumpole and the Primrose Path” “Rumpole and the New Year’s Resolutions” “Rumpole and the Scales of Justice” “Rumpole and the Right to Privacy” “Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror” “Rumpole Redeemed”
Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders book cover
#13

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders

2004

The 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.
Rumpole and the Reign of Terror book cover
#14

Rumpole and the Reign of Terror

2006

When Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders—John Mortimer’s first Rumpole novel ever—debuted last year, devoted fans came to it in droves. Now, just in time for Christmas, Mortimer returns with another Rumpole novel to tackle a truly relevant topic with his signature wit and style. While defending a mind-numbingly dull theft charge, Rumpole finds that the new terrorist laws have hamstrung his beloved courts. Meanwhile, a Pakistani doctor has been imprisoned without charge or trial under suspicion of aiding al Qaeda in its plans for a terrorist attack. With the doctor’s wife begging him to help her husband, the Great Defender is determined to bring the case before a jury. Trouble is also brewing at home as Hilda—She Who Must Be Obeyed—sits down to write her own memoirs describing her view of Rumpole and her own love life. Rumpole’s battle on the home front threatens to derail his case but where there’s a Rumpole, there’s a way!
Rumpole Misbehaves book cover
#15

Rumpole Misbehaves

2007

Beloved and bestselling Rumpole is back to solve a new and peculiar mystery Anti-Social Behavior Orders, commonly known as ASBOs, are the New Labour government’s pride and joy. A child who plays or even loiters in an unfriendly street can, on the complaint of neighbors, have an ASBO slapped on him. If he offends again he’ll be found in breach of his ASBO and thrown in jail without a trial. All this, of course, raises the wrath of everyone’s favorite barrister Horace Rumpole when he is called upon to defend a Timson child who has earned an ASBO for playing soccer on a posh street. As Rumpole tries to get to the bottom of it all, his fellow barristers in chambers decide to highlight the ridiculousness of ASBOs by citing Rumpole for bringing food and his beloved wine into his room, and for causing global warming by lighting small cigars. Another witty tale sure to please the legions of Rumpole fans who eagerly await each new installment.
Rumpole At Christmas book cover
#16

Rumpole At Christmas

2009

Rumpole at Christmas - the hilarious festive stories of John Mortimer's greatest character 'Without Rumpole, the world would be a poorer place' Daily Mail Horace Rumpole is not overfond of the rituals of turkey, tinsel and the like. But happily the festive season is not one respected by the criminal fraternity; meaning that celebrations in the Rumpole household are frequently disturbed in most-welcome ways. There's the suspicious Father Christmas at Equity's Court's festive party. The actor who goes missing from the panto on the night of a major crime. As well as the body cluttering up the health farm (where the great barrister is gloomily restricted to a diet of yak's milk and steamed spinach to please She Who Must Be Obeyed). These seven wonderful Rumpole stories show the great man at his sharpest, wittiest and best. Readers of Sherlock Holmes, P.D. James and P.G. Wodehouse will love this book. 'One of the great comic creations of modern times' Evening Standard 'There is a truth in Rumpole that is told with brilliance and grace' Daily Telegraph 'Rumpole remains and absolute delight' The Times Sir John Mortimer was a barrister, playwright and novelist. His fictional political trilogy of 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 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.
A Rumpole Christmas book cover
#16.1

A Rumpole Christmas

Stories

2009

The first ever collection of Rumpole Christmas stories, just in time for the holidays. A Rumpole Christmas is a collection of five holiday stories - never before published in book form - depicting the Old Bailey hack at his lovable best. In 'Rumpole and Father Christmas' the English barrister encounters a familiar-looking Santa who he thinks is a thief. In 'Rumpole's Slimmed Down Christmas' he goes to a new-age spa when 'She who must be obeyed' insists that he lose a few pounds. In 'Rumpole and the Christmas Break' he protects Hilda as a shady judge flirts with her while on a holiday that turns out to be anything but relaxing. Rumpole and Father Christmas—Rumpole's slimmed-down Christmas—Rumpole and the boy—Rumpole and the old familiar faces—Rumpole and the Christmas break
Regina v. Rumpole book cover
#19

Regina v. Rumpole

1981

The Third Rumpole Omnibus book cover
#omnibus

The Third Rumpole Omnibus

1997

This compilation of witty mysteries captures John Mortimer?s deft writing. Rumpole a la Carte, a delightful discourse on the British legal system, takes us from a restaurant battle over Rumpole?s mashed spuds to a confrontation with a detective-novelist on a ship. The zany yarns of Rumpole on Trial are ingenious: devil worshippers, Juvenile Court, a mysterious seductress searching for a barrister to defend her husband for a murder not yet committed, and courtroom strategies a little too lunatic force Rumpole to face the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council. Rumpole and the Angel of Death offers a comic commentary on cruelty to animals, human rights, and the fallibility of the justice system. The Third Rumpole Omnibus promises insight and laughter from the barrister who?s "as much a detective as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot" (The Boston Sunday Globe).
The Second Rumpole Omnibus book cover
#omnibus

The Second Rumpole Omnibus

1987

This volume contains twenty tales featuring beloved barrister Horace Rumpole as he turns down another invitation to exchange the joys and sorrows of life as an Old Bailey hack for the delights of the Sunshine State—where senior citizens loll on beaches and the sarcastic tones of the Mad Bull (Judge Roger Bullingham) are heard no more. Instead, Rumpole settles for the beaded bubbles of Chateau Pommeroy's ordinary claret, and his role extraordinaire as Defender of the Faith: "Never Plead Guilty." "Mortimer has created one of the legendary fictional detectives . . . a barrister \[who's\] as much a detective as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot." — The Boston Sunday Globe "Wonderfully amusing . . . full of pithy writing . . . witty and opinionated." — The Wall Street Journal
The First Rumpole Omnibus book cover
#omnibus

The First Rumpole Omnibus

1983

Who rose to enduring fame on Blood and Typewriters, told the pregnant Portia of the Chambers it would come out in the end, advised Guthrie Featherstone, Q.C. to adopt a more judicial attitude, returned in the tender gloaming of each evening - via Pommeroy's and a glass of Chateau Fleet Street - to she who must be obeyed? The answer is Horace Rumpole whose legal triumphs, plundering sorties into the 'Oxford Book of English Verse' and less-than-salubrious hat are celebrated here in this first omnibus edition which includes "Rumpole of the Bailey", "The Trials of Rumpole" and "Rumpole's Return".

Author

John Mortimer
John Mortimer
Author · 62 books

John Clifford Mortimer was 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. Series: Rumpole of the Bailey Rapstone Chronicles

548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved
Rumpole of the Bailey