Showing results by author "Mortimer" in All Categories

Following the best-selling Summer of a Dormouse, Sir John Mortimer - playwright, novelist, octogenarian, and erstwhile QC - offers up more lessons in living and growing old disgracefully. What would we like to leave to our descendants? Not a third-rate painting or our PEPS, according to Sir John, but a love of Shakespeare, a taste for alcohol, the ability to defeat boredom, the importance of never locking the lavatory door, and so on.

When a sudden diagnosis upends Lia’s world, the boundaries between her past and her present begin to collapse. Deeply buried secrets stir awake. As the voice prowling in Lia takes hold of her story, and the landscape around becomes indistinguishable from the one within, Lia and her family are faced with some of the hardest questions of all: how can we move on from the events that have shaped us, when our bodies harbour everything? And what does it mean to die with grace, when you’re simply not ready to let go?

Our Horace Rumpole, the most traditional of traditionalists, defends a hippie-like schoolteacher on a drugs charge. Quite unexpectedly, he finds himself attracted to her and to her unusual lifestyle.

Rumpole must now defend a young member of the Timson family, an extended clan of petty thieves who are otherwise decent South London rogues. Adding to Rumpole’s anxiety, his own son now appears to be acquiring some of the less respectable Timson family traits.

La Guía para viajar en el tiempo a la Inglaterra medieval no es la típica mirada a un periodo histórico. Mortimer da un giro radical a nuestra concepción de la historia: no es solo algo que se estudia, también es algo que se vive, ya sea la vida de un campesino o de un señor. A través de las crónicas diarias, las cartas, los relatos domésticos y los poemas de la época, Mortimer nos transporta al pasado y nos ofrece respuestas a preguntas que los historiadores tradicionales suelen ignorar.

Henry IV is not famous except for the plays that bear his name: He is not even a "much-maligned" king. He is normally overshadowed by his far more famous son, Henry V, despite his many achievements. Shakespeare is partly to blame for Henry's diminution and his son's exaggerated stature but not completely; we just don't know what to make of a man who took the throne from the rightful king.

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, John Mortimer, creator of the much-loved Rumpole of the Bailey, talks about his life and career as a barrister, screenwriter and novelist.

Wallenstein (1583-1634) ist eine Ausnahmefigur, faszinierend wie unerklärlich: Ein begnadetes Militärgenie und kühl kalkulierender Unternehmer, oder aber ein von Horoskopen abhängiger Zauderer? Dem Kaiser und der katholischen Sache treu ergeben oder maßlos egoistisch, ein Verräter? Ihn umgeben bis heute viele Rätsel.

'Rumpole and the Christmas Party' sees Rumpole celebrating with his Chambers colleagues and their wives and partners. There is plenty of claret, paper streamers and mistletoe, but where is She Who Must Be Obeyed? Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

In this ground-breaking audiobook, Ian Mortimer portrays Henry in the pivotal year of his reign. Recording the dramatic events of 1415, he offers the fullest, most precise and least romanticised view we have of Henry and what he did. At the centre of the narrative is the campaign which culminated in the battle of Agincourt: a slaughter ground intended not to advance England’s interests directly but to demonstrate God’s approval of Henry’s royal authority on both sides of the Channel.

Throughout John Mortimer's career, he established profound friendships with people accused of various crimes. He also indulged his passion for writing, penning Paradise Postponed and a series of stories about Rumpole, for whom he was often mistaken. With wit, wisdom and tenderness, he has written the story of his life.

'Rumpole and the Christmas Break' sees the irrepressible barrister defending a young Muslim man who has been charged with murder. As the case adjourns for the holiday, the cards are stacked against him and the judge is hostile. Stuck in a country house hotel over Christmas, can Rumpole use the break to clear his client's name? Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

When Lewis Luby (Jeremy Irons) comes to, late at night in an Italian hospital, he finds himself lying under the monstrous big toe of God. Surely there has been some mistake: Luby, who has never for one moment believed in the immortality of the soul, cannot possibly be in heaven! John Mortimer had the idea for Mr Luby's Fear of Heaven when he first visited the Santa Maria della Scala hospital in Siena and saw patients lying in beds under ceilings decorated with 15th-Century frescoes depicting Heaven and Hell.

Affectionately known as the Chekhov of Coldsands-on-Sea, Felix Morsom enjoys writing about the thwarted hopes of genteel lives. His own existence, he reflects, is comfortable if uneventful, except for the flirtatious moments he shares with his publicist, the delicious Brenda Bodkin. Until he meets Gavin and Miriam. Suddenly he is on the run from PROD, the Parental Rights and Obligations Department, as Miriam announces he is the father of her son Ian

Maggie Perowne is head of Old Masters at Klinsky's auction house in London. Ben Glazier is an art expert. Ben, not as young as he was, is inescapably in love with Maggie, but she has an unfortunate taste for such dubious men as the Hooray Henry in the wine department. Together Ben and Maggie form a crack team that blends integrity and professionalism with a keen eye for uncovering the mysterious circumstances surrounding priceless works of art.

Lucinda is a nice, middle-class girl fresh out of university, determined to 'repay her debt to society'. But when she signs up as a volunteer 'mentoring' ex-cons, it is not long before she is seduced by the darker side of life.

Dick Dunster and Philip Progmire have been friends from their schooldays. They have also been adversaries. Progmire’s thespian longings, nurtured since he was a university actor, are now submerged in his work as an accountant with Megapolis Television. Dunster is also at Megapolis, engaged on an exposé of war criminals, focussing on a blown-up church and the massacre of the whole population of a small town during the Italian campaign.

Rumpole and the Health Farm Murder finds the corpulent barrister spending a most untypical Christmas at a health spa, where he is gloomily trying to survive on a not-so-festive diet of yak's milk and steamed spinach. He is soon enlivened, however, when a murder is committed and he is asked to represent the chief suspect. Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

Nora, Silas, and Avery are three unusual apricots! After being picked from their tree, they begin their magical adventures with the outside world in a new home. They find their favorite foods, learn to make things, and find out how to really get around. Join them on their journey to true friendship - you'll smile every step of the way!

The leading podcast for all things canicross and cani-sports. Canicross instructors Louise and Michelle chat to various guests and experts, who love to run or compete with their dogs, about how to keep both dog and human happy and healthy.