Rumpole Misbehaves: A Novel (Rumpole Novels) | 
| Author: John Mortimer
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 36470
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0670018309
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780670018307
ASIN: 0670018309
Publication Date: November 29, 2007
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Product Description
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 governments 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 hell be found in breach of his ASBO and thrown in jail without a trial. All this, of course, raises the wrath of everyones 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Rumpole Rules! June 4, 2008
Rupole and his creator John Mortimer continue to reign as the principal heirs to the mantle of P. G. Wodehouse.
 Does Rumpole Ever Behave? May 5, 2008
Somehow I got to this point in life without having seen the old Rumpole series on PBS or having read any of the books. I dived in with the latest, not usually the good thing to do in a long-lived series, but I found a book that stood alone for me, I got everything, all the in-jokes and who is who. Thus, I do not hesitate to recommend it to a newcomer like me, though I'm willing to bet that someone who has read the long list of previous books in the series will say, oh, it's not half what some of the others are. In fact, it is rather short and the print size large--I actually wondered if I had blundered in to the Large Print section--but that's how it is.
Rumpole and his creator, John Mortimer, are either the originators of a number of humorous detective conventions in the UK vein or they make it seem like they are. Rumpole is probably London's oldest junior barrister, being totally impolitic when it comes to what must be done to achieve higher. His first person narrative makes it abundantly clear that most that reach senior status, Queen's Counsels, are fools. He calls them Queer Customers. That said, in this outing, he has a shot at a QC, egged on by his wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and a client who wishes his defense lawyer was of the QC level. His client gets the best, just not the prettiest. The narrative is witty, articulate, breezy and sharply satiric, especially swatting at the Labor Party's Anti-Social Behavior Order (ASBO). Rumpole is defending a child who has been slapped with two ASBO's for chasing errant soccer balls into an upscale residential street and he gets hit with one by his own partners who claim his cigar habit is contributing to global warming. He does give a very persuasive speech on what it is a defense lawyer does. And he obviously does it very well to the consternation of the establishment. Rumpole is having a ball, and I have to wonder, does he ever behave?
 Mortimer Disappoints April 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Rumpole is at it again, a contrarian in the lonely pursuit of justice, however small. His misbehaviour is of two sorts: first, he flaunts the green-inspired rules of his chambers by continuing to eat, drink and smoke small cigars in his rooms, which violation is prosecuted as a criminal offence by his colleagues under the Anti-Social Behaviours Act. Secondly, he is seduced by the prospect of being nominated for elevation at the bar and "taking silk," thereby becoming Rumpole, Q.C. ("Queer Customer," as the Rumpole of old would put it.)
These challenges take place against the backdrop of Rumpole's defense of a murder by manual stangulation, the type of crime that should whet Rumpole's chops more than appears in this story. We also are privy to more of Hilda Rumpole's journal, highlighting her dalliances both with Leonard ("the Mad Bull") Bullingham and with her notion of reading for the bar. Toss in some philandering by both Philida Erskine-Brown and her mealy-mouthed husband Claude, and all the ingredients are there for a satisfying "read" with Rumpole.
Notwithstanding, this is not one of Mortimer's best. It is a short story expanded to a novella and rushed to the printer as a novel before its time. The murder defense is given short shrift, much as Hilda receives from the Mad Bull at the end of the day. Like Rumpole, we live with our small disappointments -- and this one certainly is of that scale -- and hope for more and better things to come
Rumpole Forgets . . . April 8, 2008
Rumpole Misbehaves is an entertaining light mystery that can be finished fairly quickly. Rumpole, an "Old Bailey Hack", remains one of my favorite fictional defenders of the criminal classes. The current mystery lightly touches upon a young boy prosecuted for playing football and a government worker suspected of murdering a prostitute. Both mysteries are mere whisps of plot (think mini-MacGuffens), providing Mr. Rumpole a stage to perform. Unfortunately, the performance is not what it used to be.
The author seems to have developed amnesia regarding his supporting characters. Claude is at best a stick figure of his former self, and Miz Liz has apparently abandoned her radical feminism (and common sense). Even Phyllida, the "Portia of our Chambers"-turned judge, has apparently gone off her nut. Mortimer is a fine humorist, but it wouldn't hurt him to remember that the other characters work best as an actual supporting cast, not props. He appears to have forgotten their character histories and development completely. Even Rumpole's sudden desire to be recognized as a "Queer Customer" is jarring (earlier incarnations of the character would consider this blasphemy).
Here's hoping Mortimer takes more time with the next installment (and that there will be a next installment). New readers would be better served purchasing the First Rumpole Omnibus. While completists will want to purchase this latest edition to the series, I'd wait for a good used book sale.
"I'm afraid what we have here is a case of premature adjudication." March 30, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The irascible Horace Rumpole is definitely not mellowing with age. Concerned with what he sees as a country-wide erosion of civil liberties, Rumpole is representing Peter Timson, a twelve-year-old member of the criminal clan of Timsons, which has provided Rumpole with a steady court income over the years. Peter has been served with an ASBO, an Anti-Social Behavior Order, because he has been playing ball in the street and has had to enter an exclusive neighborhood in order to retrieve his ball. If there is any repetition of this, he will go to court. As Rumpole is grumbling about the absurdity of this order, he is served with his own ASBO--secured by his fellow barristers and staff--because he eats lunch, drinks Chateau Thames Embankment, and smokes cigarillos in chambers, behavior the rest of the group abhors.
Rumpole's biggest legal commitment, at this point, is the case of Graham Wetherby, charged with the murder of a prostitute, a Russian immigrant, during his lunch hour. Wetherby, a mild young man with a severe birthmark on his face, has few friends and no girlfriends, and despite Rumpole's dedication to his case, Wetherby feels a bit cheated because Rumpole is not a QC (Queen's Counsel), as are the attorneys who defend the worst criminals in the jail where he is being held.
The tongue-in-cheek humor, the ironies, and Rumpole's own sardonic wit and asides are delightful, and when Hilda (She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed) decides to become a barrister so that she can take over the kinds of cases that Rumpole will be too busy to accept, once he becomes a QC (a project she encourages), the hilarity continues. Hilda is the current muse of "Mad Bull" Bullingham, a judge with whom she plays cards but who has caused more problems for Rumpole than any other. Bullingham, however, adores Hilda, and agrees to sponsor Rumpole for his "silks." As the machinations involved in the process of becoming a QC play out, Rumpole tries to stay on the right side of the establishment and to keep up Wetherby's hopes that the QC title will arrive before his case comes to trial.
All the plots and subplots overlap, and the continuing cast of characters continues to provide amusements. Their long-running history involving past cases keeps the reader constantly thinking of other wonderful Rumpole stories, and the reader's appreciation of author John Mortimer's cleverness in his plots and characterizations continues to grow. As always, the focus here is clearly on Rumpole--unregenerate, unapologetic, and unwilling to compromise. n Mary Whipple
Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders
Felix In the Underworld
Murderers and Other Friends
The Summer of a Dormouse
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