Rumpole of the Bailey (book series)

Rumpole of the Bailey is a series of books created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer based on the television series Rumpole of the Bailey.[1]

Mortimer adapted his television scripts into a series of short stories and novels starting in 1978. A series of anthologies and omnibus editions were also released.

First publications of short stories and novels
  • Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season One)
    • "Rumpole and the Younger Generation"
    • "Rumpole and the Alternative Society"
    • "Rumpole and the Honourable Member"
    • "Rumpole and the Married Lady"
    • "Rumpole and the Learned Friends"
    • "Rumpole and the Heavy Brigade"


  • The Trials of Rumpole (1979) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Two)
    • "Rumpole and the Man of God"
    • "Rumpole and the Showfolk"
    • "Rumpole and the Fascist Beast"
    • "Rumpole and the Case of Identity"
    • "Rumpole and the Course of True Love"
    • "Rumpole and the Age for Retirement"


  • Rumpole's Return (1980) (novel; adaptation of the script of the stand-alone 1980 TV special)


  • Regina V. Rumpole (1981) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories specially-written for the 1980 BBC Radio series – plus adaptation of the script for the 1975 one-off film for BBC TV's Play for Today Series)
    • "Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt"
    • "Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail"
    • "Rumpole and the Dear Departed"
    • "Rumpole and the Rotten Apple"
    • "Rumpole and the Expert Witness"
    • "Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas" (a.k.a. "Rumpole and the Defence of Guthrie Featherstone")
    • "Rumpole and the Boat People" (a.k.a. "Rumpole and the Perils of the Sea")

(Re-published in 1982 under the title Rumpole For The Defence)


  • Rumpole and the Golden Thread (1983) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Three)
    • "Rumpole and the Genuine Article"
    • "Rumpole and the Golden Thread"
    • "Rumpole and the Old Boy Net"
    • "Rumpole and the Female of the Species"
    • "Rumpole and the Sporting Life"
    • "Rumpole and the Last Resort"


  • Rumpole's Last Case (1987) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Four – 1987 – plus one additional story not used in the TV series)
    • "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting"
    • "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story"
    • "Rumpole and the Official Secret"
    • "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow"
    • "Rumpole and the Bright Seraphim"
    • "Rumpole's Last Case"
    • "Rumpole and the Winter Break" (story not used in the TV series)


  • Rumpole and the Age of Miracles (1988) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Five – 1988 – plus one additional story not used in the TV series)
    • "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation"
    • "Rumpole and the Barrow Boy"
    • "Rumpole and the Age of Miracles"
    • "Rumpole and the Tap End"
    • "Rumpole and Portia"
    • "Rumpole and the Quality of Life"
    • "Rumpole and the Chambers Party" (story not used in the TV series)


  • Rumpole à la Carte (1990) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Six)
    • "Rumpole à la Carte"
    • "Rumpole and the Summer of Discontent"
    • "Rumpole and the Right to Silence"
    • "Rumpole at Sea"
    • "Rumpole and the Quacks"
    • "Rumpole for the Prosecution"


  • 'Rumpole on Trial' (1992) (adaptations of the scripts of all six stories in TV Season Seven – 1992 – plus one additional story not used in the TV series)
    • "Rumpole and the Children of the Devil"
    • "Rumpole and the Eternal Triangle"
    • "Rumpole and the Miscarriage of Justice"
    • "Rumpole and the Family Pride"
    • "Rumpole and the Reform of Joby Jonson"
    • "Rumpole on Trial"
    • "Rumpole and the Soothsayer" (story not used in the TV series)


  • Rumpole and the Angel of Death (1995) (Book of six new stories)
    • "Rumpole and the Model Prisoner"
    • "Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods"
    • "Hilda's Story"
    • "Rumpole and the Little Boy Lost"
    • "Rumpole and the Rights of Man"
    • "Rumpole and the Angel of Death"


  • Rumpole Rests His Case (2001) (Book of seven new stories)
    • "Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces"
    • "Rumpole and the Remembrance of Things Past"
    • "Rumpole and the Asylum Seekers"
    • "Rumpole and the Camberwell Carrot"
    • "Rumpole and the Actor Laddie"
    • "Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf"
    • "Rumpole Rests His Case"


  • Rumpole and the Primrose Path (2002) (Book of six new stories)
    • "Rumpole and the Primrose Path"
    • "Rumpole and the New Year's Resolutions"
    • "Rumpole and the Scales of Justice"
    • "Rumpole and the Right to Privacy"
    • "Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror"
    • "Rumpole Redeemed"


  • Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders (2004) (new novel)


  • Rumpole and the Reign of Terror (2006) (new novel)


  • The Anti-social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole (2007) (new novel) published in the USA as Rumpole Misbehaves

Collections of previously-published works

There have been six collections that have presented previously published Rumpole stories. Three volumes of an "Omnibus" series that each gathered together three previously issued sets of stories into a single book. Two books that each presented a collection of tales drawn from across the broad canon of Rumpole short stories. And one volume of Christmas-themed stories that had each been previously published in a magazine rather than in a Rumpole book.

  • The First Rumpole Omnibus (1983)

Contains all six short stories in the 1978 collection "Rumpole of the Bailey"; all six short stories in the 1979 collection "The Trials of Rumpole" and the 1980 single-story novel "Rumpole's Return"

  • The Second Rumpole Omnibus (1987)

Contains all seven short stories in the 1981 collection "Regina V. Rumpole"; all six short stories in the 1983 collection "Rumpole and the Golden Thread" and all seven short stories in the 1987 collection "Rumpole's Last Case"

  • The Third Rumpole Omnibus (1997)

Contains all seven short stories in the 1988 collection "Rumpole and the Age of Miracles"; all six short stories in the 1990 collection "Rumpole à la Carte" and all six short stories in the 1995 collection "Rumpole and the Angel of Death"

  • The Best of Rumpole: A Personal Choice (1993)

Contains seven Rumpole stories personally selected as favourites by John Mortimer.

    • "Rumpole and the Younger Generation" – from Rumpole of the Bailey (1978)
    • "Rumpole and the Showfolk" – from The Trials of Rumpole (1979)
    • "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation" – from Rumpole and the Age of Miracles (1988)
    • "Rumpole and the Tap End" – from Rumpole and the Age of Miracles (1988)
    • "Rumpole à la Carte" – from Rumpole à la Carte (1990)
    • "Rumpole and the Children of the Devil" – from 'Rumpole on Trial' (1992)
    • "Rumpole on Trial" – from 'Rumpole on Trial' (1992)
  • Forever Rumpole (2012)

Contains a total of fourteen Rumpole stories, The seven stories that were personally selected as favourites by John Mortimer in the 1993 anthology "The Best of Rumpole: A Personal Choice". Plus the following seven stories selected from the short stories published in the years after the 1993 anthology. (The book also contains the first few pages written by Mortimer for a new story titled "Rumpole and the Brave New World" that he was working on at the time of his death and thus was incomplete.)

    • "Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods" – from Rumpole and the Angel of Death (1995)
    • "Rumpole and the Angel of Death" – from Rumpole and the Angel of Death (1995)
    • "Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces" – from Rumpole Rests His Case (2001)
    • "Rumpole Rests His Case" – from Rumpole Rests His Case (2001)
    • "Rumpole and the Primrose Path" – from Rumpole and the Primrose Path (2002)
    • "Rumpole Redeemed" – from Rumpole and the Primrose Path (2002)
    • "Rumpole and the Christmas Break" – from Rumpole at Christmas (2009)
  • Rumpole at Christmas (2009)

A collection of seven Christmas-themed short stories – some first published in US or UK magazines

    • "Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces"
    • "Rumpole and the Christmas Break"
    • "Rumpole and the Boy"
    • "Rumpole and Father Christmas"
    • "Rumpole and the Health Farm Murder" (US title "Rumpole's Slimmed-down Christmas")
    • "Rumpole and the Millennium Bug"
    • "Rumpole and the Christmas Party"

(The UK book contained 7 stories. The US version – titled A Rumpole Christmas – contained 5 stories. It omitted "Millennium Bug" and "Christmas Party")

References
  1. Daily Telegraph Obituaries (16 January 2009). "Sir John Mortimer: QC who took on liberal causes but found most fame as the creator of the fictional barrister Rumpole". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
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