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Rumpole's Return

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Rumpole's Return

By: John Mortimer
Narrated by: Robert Hardy
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About this listen

 Has Rumpole hung up his wig for good? Can it be? Yes, the beloved barrister is now retired (though far from retiring) and gently ripening to a rosy hue in the Florida sunshine. But a colleague's casual request for advice on a difficult case sends him winging back across the Atlantic, and before he's through, our hero will come up against a fanatical religious cult and a mysterious letter written in blood.©1979 John Mortimer (P)2014 Audible, Inc Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Law Thriller Funny Witty

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Critic reviews

"Robert Hardy, an experienced and much-lauded actor of stage and screen, does justice to this entertaining work; his voice characterizations are consistent, versatile, and nuanced." (Library Journal)
All stars
Most relevant
enjoyable romp of a story in the usual rumpole way. Nice reading with elements of performance by Hardy.

Great tale

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Following a string of lost cases tried in front of Judge Bullingham, Rumpole has taken this as a sign and retired with She Who Must Be Obeyed to live out his twilight years in Florida, at the home of his son and his son’s American wife. However a very little of the Florida lifestyle is sufficient for Rumpole, so when he gets a letter from the lovely Phyllida née Trant (Rumpole prefers to forget her married name) asking his advice about a matter of blood, he sneaks off, flies home, and resumes his career, much to the annoyance of the young man who has moved into his room in chambers in the interim.

The Rumpole books are always entertaining, and this is no exception. All the regular characters appear, and all the running jokes are reprised. While any of the books can be read on its own, they do sometimes rely a little on the reader having some familiarity with the characters and how they’re connected to each other, either from previous books or from the excellent TV series which actually came before the books. I was sorry to find that the wonderful TV Rumpole, the late Leo McKern, had never done narrations for the books, but Robert Hardy made an excellent substitute. The books are matched so closely to the TV series that I could see all the characters in my head, and somehow that really enhanced the audiobook experience. Thoroughly good fun!

Good fun!

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Robert Hardy’s reading is excellent and the story is classic Rumpole funny and full of good observations

A good listen

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Brilliant as ever. The plot was excellent and the narration superb. Enjoyed every minute.
Thank you John Mortimer

Brilliant

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Loved listening to this. The story has several twists and turns and of course makes one chuckle all the while. Robert Harry’s narration is brilliant- so effortless. Shame more narrators don’t learn from people like him.

Superb vintage Rumpole narrated by wonderful Robert Hardy

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