About this title: John Mortimer, creator of RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY, writes from the eminence of his 81 years about 32 of his pet topics, which include the joys of drink, the necessity of vulgarity, Byron in Greece, the silliness (and dangers) of political correctness, and the virtues of outdoor sex.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780670034093ISBN:0670034096
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Description: New. A Brand New Copy. Never Read. Buy with confidence from an Independent Bookstore where the owners, a husband and wife team, have over 30 years of combined bookselling experience. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Fair. Dust Cover Missing. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Satisfaction Guaranteed. Shipped quickly. 2005. Hardcover. Used, very good. Very good overall with light to moderate wear. Includes dust jacket. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780670034093ISBN:0670034096
Description: No dust jacket. o/w absolutely brand new (never opened)/publisher's mark at bottom edge. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 238 p. Audience: General/trade. NEW / no dust jacket / small publisher's mark on the bottom edge. read more
Description: Good. 0670034096 Good condition. May have some markings & or shelfwear. All pages intact. Used items may not include extras such as infotrac, CD or other web access codes. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2005-05-26
ISBN-13:9780670034093ISBN:0670034096
Description: Good. Excellent customer service. May ship from alternate location depending on your zip code and availability. Satisfaction guaranteed! ! read more
Description: New. 0670034096 Absolutely Brand New. No marks and in pristine condition. Used items may not include extras such as infotrac, CD or other web access codes. read more
Description: Very good. John Mortimer is best known for his stories about the lovable and disheveled barrister Horace Rumpole, the great defender of muddled and sinful humanity. But he is also an accomplished memoirist, screenwriter, librettist, playwright, and former ba. read more
"Re-read in light of Mr M's passing. Brilliant collection of aphorisms and genuine sense of passing on a lifetime's experience and wisdom. Particularly like the bit about finding complete happiness while peeing into a bucket in Basingstoke."
"Mortimer writes well and humorously. Memoirs can sometimes lead to tedious rants on the world or excessive self-glorification and justification, but Mortimer is willing to laugh at himself and his own views on the world (that he gently pokes fun at the rest of the world is also greatly entertaining). These are views of a man who has come to terms with himself and the world, views that may echo some popular ideologies (or at least, ideologies popular in Mortimer's times), but which he has reflected upon and pieced together into a larger worldview that is uniquely his, with its own idiosyncracies and contradictions.
There are times when I thought he was too nostalgic over his upper-middle-class youth, and tacitly assumed that people of all stratas would have the same beliefs and dreams. One-sided arguments and considerations are, I suppose, artistic licenses granted to memoirs, although Mortimer does at times hints that he is well aware that one's "good life" may well be an aversion to another, as he does in the chapter on "avoiding utopia".
"I found it to be a general rule that the children of reasonably well-off, middle-class homes fell in love with the soulfulness of Russia. Those with more working-class backgrounds found that it stood for everything they were determined to get away from and hated it. Peter Hall, the theatre's multi-talented director, left suddenly by train for England after the oppressive Moscow reminded too painfully of his childhood before he got into Cambridge and became a star.""
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