Rumpole and the Reign of Terror

Horace Rumpole is mad as heck and he's not going to take it anymore!

John Mortimer's latest offering in his Rumpole of the Bailey series, "Rumpole and the Reign of Terror", finds Rumpole at his grouchy best. His grouchiness is not directed at his usual targets: Hilda (She Who Must be Obeyed) Rumpole or his colleagues at his law chambers. Instead, Rumpole has targeted his verbal slings and arrows at anti-terror legislation passed by Parliament in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks and the terror bombings in London of 7 July, 2005. Rumpole (and presumably Mortimer) believes that elements of these Acts threaten to destroy some of the civil liberties Britons have fought for since Magna Carta. Specifically, and despite his loathing for the bus-bombing terrorists, Rumpole is apoplectic at elements of the legislation that allows Britain's police and security forces to detain suspected (non-citizen) terrorists for an indefinite period without benefit of counsel or a formal presentation of charges. In other words Rumpole see a threat to two legal precepts he holds dearest: the right of any suspect to seek relief from possibly unlawful detention via the use of the "great writ of habeas corpus"; and the presumption that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

Rumpole falls into his latest case, in this case something akin to a legal crusade, by accident. He is defending one of the Timson clan (the crime family that has provided Rumpole with a reasonable income (a claim disputed by Hilda no doubt) for his entire career on a run of the mill breaking and entering charge. One of the Timson `girls' seeks Rumpole's assistance. Her husband, a Pakistani-born doctor, has been arrested and detained on unspecified terrorism charges. The wife is convinced that her husband is innocent and Rumpole takes the case. To Rumpole's chagrin the Timson clan fires Rumpole because they are patriots and refuse to do business with anyone who helps terrorists. Rumpole is stymied at every turn trying to get a trial for his client in order to determine his guilt or innocence until he finds a bit of information about one of his protagonists that he uses to great, if not ethical advantage. To add to Rumpole's woes, She Who Must Be Obeyed is busy locked up in a room typing her memoirs.

The above description of the plot may make Rumpole and The Reign of Terror sound a bit more depressing and less funny than the typical Rumpole story. Fortunately, this is not the case. Despite the fact that Mortimer has taken on a serious subject, Rumpole, Hilda and the usual suspects retain their usual eccentricities. Mortimer writes with a light touch, even on a subject as serious as terrorism and manages to pull it off even as Rumpole sputters on in a caustic fashion about Tony Blair and his `new Labour' minions. Rumpole remains a delightfully drawn character. Further, Mortimer provides excerpts from Hilda's memoir-in-progress and they serve as a humorous Greek chorus that sets out popular sentiment that runs contrary to Rumpole's ideals.

I very much enjoyed Rumpole and the Reign of Terror. I understand that many readers, even Rumpole fans, will not share Rumpole's view of the sanctity of `the law' in a time of terror. However, Mortimer's writing is first-rate and funny as always and I don't think a divergent viewpoint should keep a potential reader away from another wonderful story of the trials and tribulations of the great Rumpole of the Bailey! Enjoy. L. Fleisig

Since his inaugural case in the 1970's Rumpole has busily defended one or another of the Timson clan (a large and industrious family of South London thieves) on various charges. More than one of the cases Rumpole has previously chronicled involves a Timson unwisely befriending, trusting, and being betrayed by a Molloy (another large and industrious family of South London thieves). Rumpole brilliantly wins each case by convincing the jury that the Timsons and Molloys are like the Hatfields and McCoys, and that the conniving Molloy has framed the hapless Timson.

This case serves up a slight twist on that old plot, with Rumpole defending a Timson who unwisely befriended another Molloy, and at the same time defending a Pakistani doctor who married a Timson and whose affairs also cross paths with the Molloys. Besides bringing Rumpole, the Timsons, and the Molloys into the 21st Century, Mortimer also manages to mix in huge doses of critique of anti-terrorism laws. He's not too heavy-handed with his criticism, and the political commentary does not detract from the story.

The first Rumpole stories were complex pieces of work, with numerous subplots involving Rumpole's colleagues swirling around the main mystery. Mortimer's later efforts have been less complex, with Rumpole's chamber-mates at Number 4 Equity Court receding to the background as Rumpole's relationship with his wife Hilda (She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed) receives more attention. The trend continues in this latest effort, with Soapy Sam Ballard, Phillida Erskine-Brown, Claude Erskine-Brown, Hoskins, and Henry the clerk receding into cardboard figures with little depth. Still, "The Reign of Terror" was so engaging that I read it in one sitting.

RUMPOLE AND THE REIGN OF TERROR is just about as perfect as a novel can be. I feared that Mortimer might make a misstep, given the "timeliness" (actually, timelessness) of his theme (the defense of our hard-won legal rights), but the storytelling is wonderfully sure and subtle. Mortimer never tells when he can show, and he writes volumes between the lines. (What a master of understatement and informing by indirection!) All the various themes and storylines (Hilda's flirtation with divorce, Rumpole's reaction to this, the way Rumpole is viewed by others in the legal system and how he views them, the subject of terror and the law) reflect brilliantly on each other and come together seamlessly at the end. The sum is more than the parts -- a feat of novelistic magic -- and there can be no higher praise than that.

This is one of the rare authors where I would have to say, even a "bad" Rumpole is a good Rumpole, but I have yet to read a "bad."

What I find the most intriguing about this, and the last, Rumpole novel, is, who has evolved more: Horace, Hilda, or Mortimer himself?

I look forward, with eager anticipation, to more of Hilda's "memoirs," and find it delightful that Bullingham (of all the horrid people!) appreciates her in the way she deserves. (Making Horace, it would seem, appreciate her, too?)

As to the plot itself: DId it sound a bit familiar, as if perhaps Mortimer has used this formula before? Well, maybe it did... but who cares? It is, after all, Rumpole, and Rumpole is Mortimer at his very best.

Sir John Mortimer is a source of wonder to me. Despite declining health, he still manages to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard and compose new work. The latest installment of the "Rumpole" series is serviceable effort but has the feeling of a "paint by numbers" approach. Mortimer knows Horace Rumpole so intimately that he can almost channel him (no doubt employing the ghost of the inimitable Leo McKern to facilitate his efforts). Mortimer has long been a champion of civil rights, an outspoken defender of the golden rule of jurisprudence, that the accused is innocent until found guilty by a jury of his/her peers. Sir John's dismay at the increased police powers contained in Britain's onerous anti-terror legislation registers on every page and redeems and ennobles a lesser effort in a worthy, long-running series.

Here is another fine novel from John Mortimer chronicling the life and times of Horace Rumpole, London barrister and scourge of tyrants, idiots, sycophants, and incompetents. This time, Rumpole must deal with the aftereffects of the War on Terror, particularly the Blair Government's sorry efforts to limit or efface hundreds of years of British common law safeguards against wrongful arrest and imprisonment. He is the advocate for a Pakistani resident of London who has fallen afoul of anti-terrorism laws and might be deported to his native land, where he will definitely be imprisoned and tortured or executed because he believes in democracy. (Which the anti-terrorist laws being lampooned are supposedly designed to safeguard in the first place!) Its a situation ripe for Rumpole, and he is at his best here, deflating egos and probing weak spots right and left to ultimately triumph, at least partially and only for a moment, but nevertheless triumph.

All of the tried and true Rumpole characters are here: She Who Must Be Obeyed (who gets her own point of view across several times), the-always- on-the-wrong-side-of-the-law Timson clan, the utterly incompetent ninnies Sam Ballard and Claude Erskine-Brown, and all the rest. If one takes Rumpole at his word that he was about 60 when his chronicles began back in the 1970s he must now be a nonagenarian, but he remains as ageless and active as ever. I hope we will see many more of his cases in the future (perhaps he can get a license to practice US law and take on the Bush Administration and the Patriot Act next!)

Once again Mr. Mortimer has graced us with a Rumpole novel, and this one is a bit different. Normally we only get the story from Rumpole's point of view, but this time out there is a counterpoint from the memoirs being written by his long-suffering wife Hilda (or "She Who Must Be Obeyed"). The new angle puts some life into Hilda's character, and also allows us to see the more human side of the judges who are constantly being castigated by Rumpole. The main story itself is quite interesting, although even a moderately discerning reader can solve the question of guilt fairly early on in the story. That's not really the point of these books: rather it is Rumpole's querelous view of the world and just about everybody else in it. May he go on to tackle many more interesting cases.

Like my other favorite author, P.G. Wodehouse, John Mortimer shows no decline in quality with each successive masterpiece.

The Age of Terror may be the best Rumpole book yet. It combines all the best of Dear-Old-England, starting with Rumpole's famous stint with the RAF ground staff in World War II, to the contemporary, and all too real threat to modern Britain following the 7/7 attacks.

Whats an Old Bailey hack to do in such a time. Specially when his client, as usual, appears to be very very guilty, and the ire of the entire UK population, starting with She Who Must Be Obeyed, is directed at him. Why, follow his age old maxim of Never Plead Guilty of course.

Extremely entertaining, but actually does an incredible job of examining the teension between our historic freedoms and the current threats we face. And of course, John Mortimer weaves it all together in the brilliant readable style liberally sprinkled with his unmatched sense of humor. An excellent read.

One of the charms of the Rumpole books is that they are not just cranked out mysteries with a bit of a plot change. Each book seems to have something new. This book deals with the new sets of laws set up to be used against terror suspects and how they can be abused. This last book dealt with England just after the war.

This book has a particular resonance for Australian readers as there has just been the Haneef case. Dr Haneef was an Indican Doctor working in Queensland who had given a sim card to a relative. The relative later became involved in terrorism in London and suddenly Dr Haneef was remanded for two weeks answering questions and then charged with giving material support to terrorism. When he got bail the federal minister initiated deportation proceedings so that he could be locked up in a detention centre when he was released on bail rather than being released in the community. In the end the charges were dropped as they were based on faulty intelligence. A mistaken belief by the police that the sim car in question had been found in a car used for a suicide attack, rather than back at the relatives flat. Not only the charges were dropped but a court overturned his deportation order.

In this book Rumpole takes on a terror suspect. He finds that his work dries up and his most loyal clients leave him as they are upset at him representing a terrorist. Even characters who in past books have been portrayed as decent suggest he not take the case. Despite that he continues on and in the end is successful. The story is not only interesting in itself as an entertainment but illustrates the fact that modern terrorism laws can cause enormous damage when the police are lazy or investigate poorly. They give power to people who might make tip offs or complaints vexatiously, to cause ongoing misery.

In previous books Rumpole's addresses on the Magna Carta and the thread of justice were seen as a means that a person with a poor case could get someone off through the use bluster. Now in difficult times this book illustrates why the thread of justice is something more than a cliché that an old hack prattles on about. It is core to our society and to legislate it away makes things so very much worse.

Since it dealt with the stunned and paranoid Britain of post 7-7-05 this was unquestionably the most topically modern Rumpole novel of all. For Mortimer to take on the crushing of civil rights in this decade was a departure from the lighthearted simplicity of most (note I am saying most) Rumpole cases we've been privileged to read about these many years. I loved seeing Horace Rumpole and the familiar gang set into modern times and knowing that this check-in finds them alive, well, and as true to form as ever, but let's face it, anyone who couldn't see where this plot was heading was a bit innocent in the faculties, and the conclusion to it all represented yet another in a long chain of deus ex machina style endings Mortimer has long favored. I had to get that much said but make no mistake I enjoyed the book a lot, just do wish John Mortimer would add a few twists here and there in these pleasant, character-driven tales of crime and courtrooms, law chambers and the goings on in the venerable Rumpole "mansion flat."