Rumpole at Christmas

By: John Mortimer

Narrated by: Bill Wallis

Rumpole isn't particularly fond of Christmas; he finds it has a horrible habit of dragging on as he and She Who Must Be Obeyed go through the usual rituals in Froxbury Mansions.

After the exchange of presents (lavender water for her, a tie for him) they settle down to a supermarket turkey with all the trimmings, followed by a glass of port. The only excitement comes in deciding whether to stand for the national anthem after the Queen's Speech.

But at least the criminal fraternity rarely takes a holiday, so over the years Rumpole has found his festive celebrations disturbed in the most welcome ways. Whether it's a Father Christmas who behaves suspiciously at Equity Court's Christmas party, or a high-profile murder trial that comes up at the Bailey just before the holiday season, or a body discovered at the health spa where Rumpole is gloomily trying to survive a not-so-festive Christmas diet of yak's milk and spinach, there's always something wonderfully unlawful to liven up the dull holiday plans.

When Sir John Mortimer died in early 2009, it was widely agreed that Horace Rumpole was his greatest fictional creation. In these seven delightful stories, read by Bill Wallis and collected together for the first time, the great barrister lives on.

©2009 John Mortimer (P)2009 BBC Audio

A marvelous Xmas puzzle handful.

I like Bill, even though my old ears miss some words when he amusingly mumbles under his breath.

loved it!

A good variety of short stories. Enjoyed each of them, but they are not in chronological order.

Light and humorous tale in keeping with the season

These are a fun group of stories all revolving around
Christmas. It involves one of Rumpole's main enemies -
Justice Graves. He is presented as a semi serious suitor
of She Who Must Be Obeyed. In that light you will understand
the humor in the other tales. Hilda is also given more latitude to
display her household responsibilities. All in all a fun read.
TAR

Rumpole at his Best

Mortimer writes a good yarn - Bill Wallis does a great job of reading them!The characterisation is excellent!

Not much about Xmas, but I liked it anyway

Any additional comments?

I'd forgotten how much I liked the Rumpole series. Xmas isn't really a part of these stories, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.