Rumpole: The Penge Bungalow Murders and Other Stories

Don’t start with this Rumpole - 5*

Best start with some other BBC Rumpole dramatisations before this one. Why? Well in this release we find out how he met his wife, Hilda ‘she who must be obeyed’ and listen to his eminent case ‘the Penge Bungalow murders’ which he often refers to in other stories. [Search under “BBC Rumpole”; currently there are two other previous releases available on Audible.co.uk.] It’s much more interesting finding out these things at a later stage.

Lastly there are two Rumpole’s in this production, not that the front cover eludes to that. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the ‘young’ Rumpole, and Timothy West is the ‘elder’ incarnation. I assume due Mr Cumberbatch’s higher profile, poor Timothy got bumped from the front cover. Both are equally superb.

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Young Rumpole, young Hilda, great stuff

The mysterious and oft-quoted triumph of young Horace in the Penge Bungalow Murders - alone and without a leader! - explained, as well as the inexplicable courtship of two strong but superficially incompatible characters. The combination of Timothy West and Benedict Cumberbatch as Rumpole in grumpy maturity and in embryonic form in his early career works well. (On radio, don’t think it would work visually!) Both are versatile actors and the audio format has the great benefit of engaging the imagination of the audience without any distractions. Obviously it also allows actors who are in great demand to take on more roles and more diverse parts than would otherwise be possible. Three cheers for BBC Radio 4!! I’m so glad Audible gives us the opportunity to own radio classics (Yes, Minister, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Old Harry’s Game, Cabin Pressure....) as well as a plethora of books, including a growing collection of works in languages other than English.

4 people found this helpful

An enjoyable time spend with Rumpole and his adventures

I enjoyed the point of view of the more mature Rumpole and also the general cast and crew for producing such an excellent work. I didn't need to close my eyes to imagine the places Rumpole was at or with whom; as the background noises, the massive cast that took extra roles and all the massive work that has happened behind the scenes produced such an entraining result. I must admit of not knowing anything about Rumpole before I listened to this audio book but now if BBC4 does another audio book like that for Rumpole I am sure to get it!

1 person found this helpful

Very satisfying

I've enjoyed Rumpole on the radio for years and years, so there is something wonderfully heat-warming and comforting about listening to them.
The cast do a terrific job, and these are just a lovely listen. All the characteristics a steaming cup of tea in front of the fire after a long walk in the cold and wet. Ahhh!

Cumberbatch does it again

he didn’t do it all though. The entire cast was excellent. Obviously the writing superb.

Quintessential Rumpole

High quality BBC production with an all star cast. Brilliant from beginning to end! You will find yourself wanting to start all over again!

Highly entertaining!

Cast superb. Benedict Cumberbatch captured Rumpole perfectly. Wonderful comedic turns by entire cast. Great entertainment.

disapointing

What would have made Rumpole: The Penge Bungalow Murders and Other Stories better?

Two of the Chapters are repeats from other books

What could John Mortimer have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Had New stories included in this book

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Best bit

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Early stories really good

Any additional comments?

waste of time dont buy

2 people found this helpful