These stories remain a complete delight. Rumpole’s narrative voice, the characters he portrays and the clever conundrums he encounters all make this a hugely enjoyable, engaging read.
Rumpole’s own attitudes are also interesting and rather thoughtfully portrayed amid the humour. He is a crusty, old-school barrister with a healthy scepticism about the traditions and dignitaries of the law, and about the comfortable Old Boy nature of the legal profession. He quotes copiously from The Oxford Book Of English Verse (the Arthur Quiller-Couch edition, of course) but also has a genuine concern for his clients and an understanding of their circumstances which is often lacking in his colleagues who regard court cases rather as they might a game of chess – genuinely trying to beat their opponents, but finding the result of no great consequence either way. Rumpole understands that to the boy going to prison for several years, the result is of very great consequence indeed.
One story here is rather more troubling. In Rumpole And The Honourable Member he defends someone accused of rape, which includes attacking the alleged victim in the witness box. It’s uncomfortable reading, even though it is an accurate portrayal of what did and does happen in such cases. In these #metoo times, Rumpole’s view of the matter looks, shall we say, dated, but it’s a fair example of some of the more serious matters which are considered in these very amusingly told stories.
That said, you can’t go wrong with Rumpole. I’m delighted to have re-visited these stories and can recommend them very warmly.
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