Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer
"Rumpole and the Reign of Terror" is a novel by John Mortimer that features the beloved character Rumpole, a seasoned advocate known for his antiestablishment views and deep empathy for society's marginalized individuals. In this installment, Rumpole defends Tiffany Timson Khan, whose husband, a Pakistani émigré and physician, faces wrongful imprisonment under stringent antiterrorism laws. The novel explores themes of justice, civil liberties, and the complexities of modern legal systems, particularly as Rumpole navigates the challenges posed by government policies that can obscure the truth.
As Rumpole delves into his defense, he employs unconventional tactics, including leveraging potentially damaging information about a high-ranking government official. The narrative is enriched by the presence of recurring characters, including Rumpole’s wife Hilda, who offers a contrasting perspective on immigration and security, reflecting broader societal debates. The interplay between Rumpole’s liberal ideals and Hilda’s more conservative stance on the legal treatment of immigrants adds depth to the story. Ultimately, the novel presents a commentary on the balance between national security and individual rights, while also incorporating domestic humor and character dynamics typical of the Rumpole series.
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Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 2006
Type of work: Novel
The Work
Having written dozens of Rumpole stories, Mortimer in 2004 published his first novel featuring the Old Bailey advocate, Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders, which recalls the early case that made his reputation and incidentally led to marriage with Hilda. Rumpole and the Reign of Terror also is a novel, with Hilda as conarrator and aspiring memoirist. Notwithstanding this new narrative approach, there is much that is familiar from earlier entries in the Rumpole saga: his antiestablishment attitude, especially toward the judiciary; his sympathy for society’s outsiders; his almost paternalistic attitude toward the Timsons, the clan of petty thieves who are his frequent clients; and multiple story lines. In addition, recurring characters make cameo appearances: “Soapy Sam” Ballard, Q. C., hapless head of chambers and Rumpole’s nominal superior; Claude Erskine-Brown, an ineffectual colleague whose wife’s legal career puts his to shame; Ferdinand Ian Gilmour Newton, also known as Fig Newton, Rumpole’s private investigator, who always has a cold; and Dodo Mackintosh, Hilda’s old school friend and occasional guest, whose dislike of Rumpole is matched by his antipathy toward her.
While defending a Timson client, Rumpole is engaged by another family member, Tiffany Timson Khan, but not to finesse a burglary charge. Rather, her husband, a London physician whose family had emigrated from Pakistan in the 1970’s, was arrested as a terrorist and faces indefinite imprisonment. Because of new antiterrorism statutes, the government can withhold information about the case, even potentially exculpatory evidence; thus stymied, Rumpole resorts to unconventional means to develop his defense. Thanks to a fortuitous coincidence, the Old Bailey hack learns potentially embarrassing information about the home secretary, whom he pressures (indeed, blackmails) to remove some of the new legal obstacles in this instance. Thus unfettered, Rumpole embarks upon a vintage courtroom performance and exonerates his wrongly accused client.
Meanwhile, the presiding judge, an erstwhile Rumpole rival, Leonard Bullingham (dubbed “The Mad Bull” by court denizens), who has become Hilda’s afternoon bridge partner, starts to woo her and suggests marriage. Domestic subplots, standard in the Rumpole canon, are more than gratuitous diversions. Here, Mortimer reduces a high court judge, Rumpole’s present courtroom nemesis, to a would-be seducer of a married woman. Flattered though she is by Bullingham’s attention, Hilda’s commitment to Rumpole is unwavering; she is as loyal and selfless a spouse as Tiffany and quite the opposite of manipulative and ambitious Benazir Whiteside.
The Hilda narrative also provides a contrasting view of the government’s tampering with legal traditions, for Hilda supports actions against the United Kingdom’s immigrant population, whom she distrusts. Dr. Khan is a “ghastly terrorist,” properly imprisoned, she says, and believes that “most sensible people” agree with her. When Rumpole confronts her with allusions to the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, she responds that “there were no suicide bombers and no Al Qaeda when King John signed up to the charter on the island of Runnymede.” This contrast between the Rumpoles focuses reader attention upon Mortimer’s deeply held belief in liberty and freedom of speech for all.
Having prevailed once again for his clients over hypocrisy and the more powerful, and in this instance over questionable laws, Rumpole the liberal iconoclast looks ahead to more closing speeches and cross-examinations, troubled only by the prospect of Hilda publishing her memoirs.
Bibliography
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