The Trials of Rumpole

Horace Rumpole-who never prosecutes, whose fame rests on an infinite knowledge of blood and typewriters, whose court scenes are proverbial, whose home is ruled by Mrs. Rumpole (“She Who Must Be Obeyed”)-is back on the defense, as irreverent, as iconoclastic, as claret-swilling, poetry-spouting, impudent, witty, and cynical as ever.

This time the judge-debunking barrister-at-law is embroiled with a minister accused of shoplifting, an actress accused of murder, and a racist candidate for Parli...