Rumpole The Penge Bungalow Murders ..., John Mortimer
Rumpole The Penge Bungalow Murders ..., John Mortimer
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Rumpole: The Penge Bungalow Murders & other stories
Three BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Author: John Mortimer

Narrator: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cathy Sara, Full Cast, Jasmine Hyde, Timothy West

Unabridged: 2 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/04/2018

Categories: Fiction, Media Tie-in


Synopsis

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole.

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders:
It is the fifties, and two war heroes have been shot dead. Defending the suspect is deemed hopeless, so the case is handed to a novice. But the novice's superiors didn't count on the tenacity and wit of the young and hungry Horace Rumpole, as he defends the accused alone and without a leader for the very first time. This two-part adaptation of the novel by John Mortimer also marks the beginning of Rumpole's life-long liason with Hilda ("She Who Must Be Obeyed").

Rumpole and the Family Pride:
We rejoin Rumpole and Hilda in the late 1950s, when they have been married for a year or two. Hilda's cousin lives with her husband, the 17th Baron Sackbut, in Sackbut Castle on the Yorkshire Moors. Hilda and Rumpole are invited to the castle when a body is found in the grounds. Meanwhile, in London, Rumpole defends a tramp who has confessed to a triple-murder.

Rumpole and the Eternal Triangle:
When Rumpole and Hilda attend a concert performed by The Casterini Trio, Rumpole is surprised to be approached by Elizabeth Casterini - the trio's beautiful violinist. But then the Trio's cellist, Tom Randall, is murdered. Elizabeth's husband is arrested, and Rumpole agrees to defend him at the Old Bailey.

'a deliciously fun listen' - AudioFile Magazine

About John Mortimer

John Mortimer (1923–2009) was a playwright, novelist, and barrister. He wrote many radio, film, and television scripts, including the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey, and won the British Academy Writer of the Year Award in 1979. He retired from the bar in 1984 and was knighted in 1998.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Realini on September 24, 2025

Rumpole and The Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer, author of Charade [URL not allowed] and Titmuss Regained [URL not allowed] both included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List 9 out of 10 This reader is not particularly inclined to indulge......more

Goodreads review by Maryam on September 04, 2018

So I didn't know anything about Rumpole before listening to thsi BBC production and my sole reason for choosing it was having Benedict Cumberbatch as young Rumpole and well I liked this production. The narrator is old Rumpole voiced by Timothy West and Benedict acts as younger Rumpole. He is a very g......more

Goodreads review by Lyndon on November 09, 2021

Three radio plays from BBC 4 based on Rumpole stories. Very well done, humorous and enjoyable.......more

Goodreads review by Ilana (illi69) on December 31, 2018

My mind is forever filled to the brim with reasons one should never make gross assumptions about anything or ever generalize about any one group of people, as it is such a vulgar habit, which is something I am forever reminding my partner who does SO like to generalize about everything and everyone,......more

Goodreads review by Alex on April 24, 2020

Generally speaking I have NOT enjoyed this retelling of John Mortimer's stories. However, out of the lot that I've listened to, this one is probably the best. It portrays Rumpole as an old man looking back on his much younger self. The majority of the narrative involves the younger Rumpole (like in......more


Quotes

a deliciously fun listen AudioFile Magazine