Author:John Mortimer
Horace Rumpole - witty, eloquent, dishevelled and cynical - is one of fiction's best-loved barristers-at-law. In these twenty classic tales, Rumpole battles through the Old Bailey, whether defending various members of an incompetent South London crime family, taking on haute-cuisine chefs and showfolk or mocking the pomposity of his own profession, all the while being held in check by his wife, Hilda: the wonderful, fearsome She Who Must Be Obeyed.
These collected stories, in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time, are a definitive introduction to one of the wisest and wittiest characters in British comic writing and a reminder of what justice should really be about. With a new introduction by Sam Leith, former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph and contributor to the Evening Standard, Guardian and Spectator.
I thank Heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole
—— Clive JamesRumpole is simply one of the great fictional characters of modern English literature
—— Marcel Berlin , Sunday TimesThe best mock heroic fatty since Falstaff
—— Alan CorenThis book is a masterpiece
—— Sunday ExpressIt is quite outstanding, full of beauty, pain and truth... We are lucky to have this book
—— Sunday TelegraphThe greatest comic writer ever.
—— Douglas AdamsWitty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny.
—— Arabella WeirNot only the funniest English novelist who ever wrote but one of our finest stylists.
—— Susan HillP.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply, or with quite as much wit and affection.
—— Julian FellowesThe incomparable and timeless genius - perfect for readers of all ages, shapes and sizes!
—— Kate MosseThe Wodehouse wit should be registered at Police HQ as a chemical weapon.
—— Kathy LetteWodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already.
—— Lynne TrussA genius ... Elusive, delicate but lasting.
—— Alan AyckbournIt's dangerous to use the word genius to describe a writer, but I'll risk it with him.
—— John HumphrysFreakishly good... Barrett’s astonishingly mature stories windmill with violent abandon into our time.
—— Stuart Hammond , Dazed DigitalHow dare a debut writer be this good? Young Skins has all the hallmarks of an instant classic… His vision is sharp, his wit is sly, and the stories in this collection come alive with that ineffable thing – soul.
—— Alison MacLeodA triumph.
—— Memphis Barker , Literary ReviewBarrett’s details shine like diamonds in a coal scuttle.
—— Max Liu , Independent‘[Barrett] cuts across all kinds of boundaries of class and education to produce immensely tender portraits of living characters.
—— Anne Enright , Irish ExaminerThis is an exceptional debut, and one of the best collection of short stories that I have read in years.
—— Louise O’Neill, 5 stars , Irish PostAn exciting debut
—— Sunday TimesI don’t think I’ve ever read a better collection by somebody I had never heard of
—— William Leith , Evening StandardA technically-assured collection that never disappoints
—— Country & Town House
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