In Other Words

by John Mortimer

In Other Words - a hilarious book of verse, anecdotes and memories by John Mortimer

From one of Britain's greatest ever raconteurs, these are the stories with which John Mortimer entertained the nation for years: of seedy criminals and the even seedier criminal justice system, of boyhood and his remarkable father, of passion and politics, and most of all English eccentrics from Lord Byron to the present day. Along the way, we meet a motley crew of failed murderers, remorseful drunkards, unrepentant adulterers and cantankerous judges. And interspersed among these humorous vignettes is a wonderful selection of English (and some American) poetry, which beautifully complements the stories.

In Other Words is the record of an extraordinary life lived in law and literature, and a story of England and Englishness. If you like P.G. Wodehouse you will love this book.

Sir John Mortimer was a barrister, playwright and novelist. His fictional trilogy about the inexorable rise of an ambitious Tory MP in the Thatcher years (Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets) has recently been republished in Penguin Classics, together with Clinging to the Wreckage and his play A Voyage round My Father. His most famous creation was the barrister Horace Rumpole, who featured in four novels and around eighty short stories. His books in Penguin include: The Anti-social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole; The Collected Stories of Rumpole; The First Rumpole Omnibus; Rumpole and the Angel of Death; Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders; Rumpole and the Primrose Path; Rumpole and the Reign of Terror; Rumpole and the Younger Generation; Rumpole at Christmas; Rumpole Rests His Case; The Second Rumpole Omnibus; Forever Rumpole; In Other Words; Quite Honestly and Summer's Lease.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2008

About the author

John Clifford Mortimer was a novelist, playwright and former practising barrister. Among his many publications are several volumes of Rumpole stories and a trilogy of political novels, Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets, featuring Leslie Titmuss - a character as brilliant as Rumpole. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998.

Series:
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rapstone Chronicles

Reviews

[Christine]

A very slim volume indeed, three quarters filled with other peoples poetry.

[Jonathan]

Just a quick read, poems, prose and autobiographical readings from a later stage performance. A lovely poem by Yeats is included, 'When You Are Old', which I didn't know before. An amusing book. I hadn't read anything by John Mortimer before, but when it came out it reminded me that when I worked in Blackwells in Oxford I was covering lunches in the Literature Department one day, when a distinctive voice surprised me and asked for books by Jorge Luis Borges. I recognised the voice almost before I did the giant man before me, and took him to where he wanted to be, back in my own Fiction Department. John Mortimer was of course a hero of modern literature, having been the barrister for the defence in the Lady Chatterley trial, along with the trial to get Last Exit To Brooklyn published in the UK. Incidentally, Basil Blackwell was a witness for the prosecution for that trial, but did himself no favours when he admitted to not having read the book. It was an honour to meet John Mortimer.

[bob]

A good sample of poems inter-weaved with glimpses of John Mortimer's life as a lawyer and a writer. A book that was first dramatized and probably would be a good listen. Not sure if it was ever recorded.

[Karen]

I'm a big Mortimer fan, and this was just a nice bit of anecdotal writing, as well as poetry he loves. Thoroughly enjoyed.