Book 1

Rumpole of the Bailey

by John Mortimer

Published 20 June 2011

'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


Book 2

The Trials of Rumpole

by John Mortimer

Published 1 January 1991

'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


Book 4

Rumpole for the Defence

by John Mortimer

Published 28 February 2003

Book 5


Book 6

Rumpole's Last Case

by John Mortimer

Published 2 January 1994