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Rumpole: The Sleeping Partners & Other Stories cover art

Rumpole: The Sleeping Partners & Other Stories

By: John Mortimer
Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch,Jasmine Hyde,Timothy West,full cast
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Summary

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole.

Rumpole and the Old Boy Net: With the help of his new pupil, Miss Phillida Trant, Rumpole must defend Mr Napier Lee, who is charged with blackmail. But the alleged victim of the blackmail went to public school with Mr Lee, and so Mr Lee won't sneak on his old school chum....

Rumpole and the Sleeping Partners: After a legal ball in the Savoy Hotel, Rumpole and Hilda argue about Rumpole's drunken behaviour, and Rumpole decides to sleep the night on his sofa in chambers - strictly against the rules. But there he finds his colleague Erskine-Brown with Phillida Trant, 'working late'....

Rumpole and the Portia of Our Chambers: Rumpole comes close to giving up the law when forced to consider the path his life has taken by a combination of his attraction to his pupil Phillida, an unsettling case involving an Irish terrorist, and a visit from an old flame of Hilda's.

©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

What listeners say about Rumpole: The Sleeping Partners & Other Stories

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

An Unnecessary Sexing Up of the Originals

John Mortimer's Rumpole stories are little gems written by a master storyteller. Why then have they been rewritten, setting them some twenty five years later than the originals? Just to accomodate the young voice of Dominic Cumberbatch, whose performance is, by the way, very good? The idea of Rumpole fathering a child with Phylida Trant is crude; the relationship between Rumpole and Trant in the original was more interesting and amusing.
Mortimer's work doesn't need to be sexed up for the twenty-first century.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant Rumpole

Enjoy my Rumpole. Great production but why must the BBC always slutify literature! Rumpole does not sleep with any other woman than his wife. All the books state this. So why indicate & cheap titivate in this set. Good writing doesn't need it. Hope we have more good old Rumpole.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfectly blend of Brilliant Narrator and our Beloved Hero, Rumpole!

Could there be a more perfect union than Brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch's narration of Rumpole! Forget Portia and Hilda! This is sheer genius!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant & Timeless

I could listen to Rumpole all day and never tire of this series. It is so excellently produced and written, that I only wish there were more in the series to choose from..

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely different to the TV series

I always loved the TV series with Leo McKern so was keen to listen to this version. Not having read the books I was surprised of there being a significant difference in the story line which wasn't portrayed on TV. Not an issue as such and in fact added to my enjoyment of the story line. Benedict Cumberbatch gives a brilliant performance of Rumpole and is well supported by the other actors. My only gripe it that at the start of the 2nd and 3rd episodes a fairly large chunk of the previous one was repeated to, I presume, bring the listener up update with the backstory events. However so much of the 2nd episode was repeated in the 3rd that at first thought I was listening to the 2nd one again. Other than this I did enjoy them and will be getting the next ones in the series

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Oh dear

so far from the book very disappointing. Why do this to a really good book

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Don't fix what isn't broken

Excellent performances, and the plots were good as always, but I really wish this adaptation didn't insist on introducing romance between Rumpole and Portia/Phyllida. It's not remotely necessary and it takes away from the production in my opinion.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Simply awful

As above. Dreadful story lines seemingly unrelated to the actual books.
Awful, awful, awful, awful!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Cup of tea and feet up

What a nourishing way to fill a couple of hrs, cup of tea, feet up and just sink into that wonderful sound of Benedict.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not the best Rumpole

Rumpole is, above all, witty and dry. Cumberbatch, good actor though is, hasn’t really got the ability to convey humour, certainly not like Rhind-Tutt who catches him perfectly. The reading was ok but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the ones with Rhind-Tutt.

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