Rumpole at Christmas [Hardcover]

The late Sir John Mortimer left behind a number of Rumpole stories first published in magazines and newspapers and/or broadcast on radio which were not published in book form during his life. Several of these stories have been gathered here in what must be considered a must-read for all Rumpoleans.

Two notes of caution:
1) Despite what the dust-jacket says about absolutely none of these stories ever before appearing in book form, the lead story in this collection also appeared as the lead story in the 2001 collection Rumpole Rests His Case. Otherwise, these stories are indeed all "fresh" to book form.

2) As with other late-vintage Rumpole stories, many of the story-line details from the Rumpole of the television years have been ignored or forgotten. Readers who can look past these inconsistencies should enjoy these tales.

There remain as yet a handfull of Rumpole stories still not collected in any book. Perhaps the publisher can bring these together as one further last treat from the master.

Do your bit if you must to keep these climate change and global warming miseries happy but never, but never, give up reading books. Rumpole is real, Rumpole equates with justice of which there is little about but above all Rumpole is fun. If there is one way to enjoy life it is this - read John Mortimer's accounts of Rumpole and it will inspire you to continue to hope in human nature. Life is the greatest gift we have and Rumpole enjoys it.

Of the many joys of the 'original' Rumpole stories - by which I mean the ones written from the seven televised series and two 'specials' - the numerous references to characters and events in previous stories gave the reader a feeling of continuity. The characters were fully formed and, in the readers' mind, really lived.

Unfortunately, this continuity was not kept up in later years in the single stories usually published in time for Christmas. And, as a devoted Rumpole fan, I noticed, and felt let down. This collection of short stories is full of such 'inconsistencies', as the reviewer Mr Freeman describes them.

For example: since the very beginning Rumpole's Chambers have resided at 1 Equity Court. In two of these stories, they seemed to have upped sticks and moved along to number 4. In "Rumpole and the Christmas Break", Hilda meets Mr Justice Graves for the first time, having apparently forgotten that she once spent a considerable amount of time with him on a cruise in "Rumpole at Sea". And indeed, Rumpole himself, who tells us that he knows Graves "...only as The Old Gravestone", has apparently forgotten what we, the readers, would never forget - that the man was always habitually referred to as "Mr Injustice Graves". In "Rumpole and the Millennium Bug" (1999) Henry is no longer the clerk; in "Rumpole and the Christmas Party" (2004) he has been reinstated to his position. In two consecutive stories Dodo Mackintosh lives first in Devon, then in Cornwall. Not impossible, I suppose, but without any supporting information, inconsistent.

Mortimer's unofficial biographer described his subject as lazy, and I regret to say that I agree with him. For example: in "Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces" the town in Norfolk which Rumpole and Hilda visit is called Coldsands, the same name used for the west country town in "Rumpole and the Alternative Society". In the same story the name of the policeman involved is Grimble, which is also the name of the northern town to which Rumpole travels in "Rumpole and the Show Folk". Professor Ackerman, who in previous stories has always been Andrew, becomes Arthur in "Rumpole and the Christmas Break". And compare these openings:

"Christmas comes but once a year and this time it came as usual with tinselled cards and sprigs of holly appearing at the entrance to the cells under the Old Bailey; and 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' played endlessly in the Tastee-Bite cafe in Fleet Street (from "Rumpole and the Christmas Party").

"Christmas comes but once a year, and it is usually preceded by Christmas cards kept in the prison officers' cubby holes around the Old Bailey and 'Away in a Manger' bleating through Boots..." (from "Rumpole and the Health Farm Murder").

The strongest story in this weak bunch is "Rumpole and the Health Farm Murder", but even here, the plot line strongly resembles the one which appeared in "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story". And we are asked to believe that even with a barrister and solicitor on the scene when a suspicious death occurs, the corpse is simply examined by a doctor and then taken away in an ambulance without any involvement of a pathologist or, indeed, the police. This is lazy stuff. I know Mortimer was getting on a bit by the time he wrote these stories, but aren't editors supposed to edit?

I'm sorry if this sounds rather bad-tempered, but I bought this book on the strength of the preceding five reviews, all of which gave the book five stars. I did so because I believed this book would be better than Mortimer's more recent efforts. They are not. Reviewer Damaskcat suggests this collection would be a good introduction to Rumpole for new readers. I disagree. I recommend that new readers wanting to read the best Rumpole stories - the ones with consistently good plots, sub-plots, fully formed characters and endings which are not flagged up half way through the narrative - should buy the early stories which have been gathered together in the first and second omnibus editions.

I feel much better now.