John Mortimer Books in Order
John Mortimer has written 43 books, published between 1947 and 2011. The first book is Charade (1947) and the newest is Forever Rumpole (2011). Publication order is the reading order below. 22 of the 43 books listed here are in the Rumpole of the Bailey series, which has its own page: Rumpole of the Bailey books in order.
- Books
- 43
- Published
- 1947–2011
- Pages on record
- 5,895 in 27 of 43 books
- Reading time
- 98–147 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,895 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 27 of 43 titles with a page count on record.
Sir John Mortimer (1923-2009) practised as a barrister in Britain and wrote plays, screenplays and fiction. Horace Rumpole, the barrister of Rumpole of the Bailey, is the creation Mortimer is known for, and the Rumpole short stories were worked up from episodes of the television series Mortimer wrote himself. Forty-three titles are catalogued, from Charade (1947) to Forever Rumpole (2011), with the Rapstone Chronicles alongside the Rumpole books and London courtrooms and English politics across the subject list.
How many John Mortimer books are there?
John Mortimer has 43 books, released between 1947 and 2011. They include 2 series and 17 titles listed outside any series.
John Mortimer Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 43 John Mortimer books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Charade1947 · confirmed 2/41947–2/4
- 2Like Men Betrayed1953 · 203 pages · confirmed 2/419532032/4
- 3The Narrowing Stream1954 · 185 pages · confirmed 2/419541852/4
- 4A Voyage Round My Father. John Mortimer1971 · 166 pages · confirmed 2/419711662/4
- 519782082/4
- 6The Fear Of Heaven1978 · 26 pages · confirmed 2/41978262/4
- 719801592/4
- 819812052/4
- 919813442/4
- 10Clinging to the Wreckage1982 · 200 pages · confirmed 2/419822002/4
- 1119821862/4
- 1219832522/4
- 131985–2/4
- 14Summer's Lease1985 · confirmed 2/41985–2/4
- 15Character Parts1986 · 216 pages · confirmed 2/419862162/4
- 161986–2/4
- 171988–2/4
- 181989–2/4
- 191989–2/4
- 2019903472/4
- 211991–2/4
- 22The Oxford Book of Villains1992 · 431 pages · confirmed 2/419924312/4
- 23Dunster1992 · 296 pages · confirmed 2/419922962/4
- 2419922562/4
- 2519932882/4
- 26Murderers and Other Friends1994 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/419942722/4
- 271995–2/4
- 2819952602/4
- 29Felix In The Underworld1996 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/419962562/4
- 301998–2/4
- 31The Summer of a Dormouse2000 · confirmed 2/42000–2/4
- 322002–2/4
- 33Where There's a Will2003 · confirmed 2/42003–2/4
- 3420032112/4
- 3520042242/4
- 362005642/4
- 37Quite Honestly2005 · confirmed 2/42005–2/4
- 38Zerah Colburn - Spirit of Darkness2005 · confirmed 2/42005–2/4
- 3920061922/4
- 40The Anti-Social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole / Rumpole MisbehavesRumpole of the Bailey #202007 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/420071602/4
- 41In Other Words2008 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/420081282/4
- 4220091602/4
- 432011–2/4
John Mortimer series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Rumpole of the Bailey books in order 22 books
- Rumpole books in order 22 books
John Mortimer books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Rapstone Chronicles in order
3 booksChap in order
1 bookStandalone books
17 books17 John Mortimer titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read John Mortimer books in order?
You only need to read John Mortimer books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with John Mortimer
Start with the first book of the John Mortimer series you want to read: Rumpole of the Bailey starts with Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) and Rumpole starts with Rumpole of the Bailey (1978). The earliest catalogued title overall is Charade (1947).
What is the newest John Mortimer book?
Forever Rumpole (2011) is the newest John Mortimer book released so far.
Is there a new John Mortimer book coming?
No next John Mortimer book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
John Mortimer at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest John Mortimer title on record dates from 2011, 15 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- John Mortimer books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 5,895 pages across the 27 of 43 books with a recorded length, a median of 208 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Mortimer books, 13 of 43, were published in the 1980s.
What the John Mortimer books are about
34 of the 43 John Mortimer books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: rumpole, horace (fictitious character) is tagged on 15 of 34. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Rumpole, horace (fictitious character) 15 of 34 books
- Horace Rumpole (Fictitious character) 11 of 34 books
- Lawyers 11 of 34 books
- Mystery & detective 9 of 34 books
- English Legal stories 7 of 34 books
- Legal stories 7 of 34 books
- London (England) 7 of 34 books
- England 6 of 34 books
- Authors 4 of 34 books
- Biography 3 of 34 books
- Humor 3 of 34 books