John Mortimer, British author, dies at 85

The world is a slightly less happy place with today’s announcement of the death of very British writer Sir John Mortimer, QC at the age of 85.

Mortimer had a successful career as a British barrister and as an author of numerous books, screen plays and radio productions.

But my favorite Mortimer creation was the crusty caraciture of the British barrister, Horace Rumpole. In addition to Mortimer’s written stories about Rumpole, the character was brought to life for me by the Rumpole of the Bailey series on PBS starring Leo McKern in the title role. Rumpole brought us 44 episodes in the tv series – all of which, I believe, reside in my DVD collection. McKern also narrated a number of Rumpole audio books.

The title derives from the London central criminal court often called The Old Bailey. The British legal system distinguishes between transactional lawyers called solicitors and lawyers who actually appear in court called barristers. Rumpole was decidedly the latter – happiest in the Courtroom, with a fascination with crime and an affection for the minor criminal classes. He (almost) never pleads guilty and is a master at cross-examination of witnesses and confronting judges. Rumpole was a self-described “Old Bailey hack” – getting on in years but true to his principles at all times.

Mortimer was a master wordsmith who created his own view of the legal profession with vivid characters and marvelous verbal imagery.

He brought many hours of enjoyment to me and his many readers and watchers of his creations on the small screen.