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  • Rumpole of the Bailey

  • The Rumpole of the Bailey Series, Book 1
  • Written by: John Mortimer
  • Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
  • Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)

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Rumpole of the Bailey cover art

Rumpole of the Bailey

Written by: John Mortimer
Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
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Publisher's Summary

Horace Rumpole, the irreverent, iconoclastic, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister at law, is among the most beloved characters of English crime literature. He is not a particularly gifted attorney, nor is he particularly fond of the law by courts if it comes to that, but he’d rather be swinging at a case than bowing to his wife Hilda, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.

In this first title of the popular series featuring Rumpole, all of the major characters who occupy the Rumpole stories make their introductions: the sneaky, slightly effeminate Erskine-Brown, the bumbling Guthrie Featherstone and various and sundry other lawyers and clerks whose lives weave in and out of these stories. These six stories include the "Younger Generation", the "Alternative Society", the "Honourable Member", the "Married Lady", the "Learned Friends", and the "Heavy Brigade".

©1978 Advanpress, Ltd (P)1991 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What the critics say

“Mortimer has created one of the legendary fictional detectives…a barrister [who’s] as much a detective as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.” ( Boston Sunday Globe)

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What listeners say about Rumpole of the Bailey

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  • Overall
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Most enjoyable.

A really fun listen. Frederick Davidson is one of the best narrators I have heard.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Most entertaining!

Great storytelling. Marvellous characters. A remarkable diversity of quotations from poetry.. Eloquence and humor. Beautifully performed by one of my favourite readers. Thank you audible.

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1 person found this helpful