Rumpole Books in Order
John Mortimer has written 22 Rumpole books, published between 1978 and 2011. The first book is Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) and the newest is Forever Rumpole (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 22
- Published
- 1978–2011
- Pages on record
- 3,105 in 14 of 22 books
- Reading time
- 52–78 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,105 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 22 titles with a page count on record.
Horace Rumpole is John Mortimer's London barrister, a defence advocate at the Old Bailey whose cases make up a series of English legal mysteries. Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) opens the run and Forever Rumpole (2011) closes it, taking in Rumpole's Return, The Trials of Rumpole, Rumpole and the Golden Thread and Rumpole's Last Case. Twenty-two books carry the character, many of them story collections.
How many Rumpole books are there?
Rumpole has 22 books, released between 1978 and 2011.
Rumpole Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 22 Rumpole 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.
- 119782082/4
- 219801592/4
- 319812052/4
- 419813442/4
- 519821862/4
- 619832522/4
- 71986–2/4
- 81988–2/4
- 91989–2/4
- 101989–2/4
- 111991–2/4
- 1219922562/4
- 1319932882/4
- 141995–2/4
- 1519952602/4
- 162002–2/4
- 1720032112/4
- 1820042242/4
- 1920061922/4
- 20The Anti-Social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole / Rumpole MisbehavesRumpole of the Bailey #202007 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/420071602/4
- 2120091602/4
- 222011–2/4
Do you have to read Rumpole books in order?
You should read the Rumpole books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Rumpole book also stands alone.
Where to start with Rumpole
Start with Rumpole of the Bailey (1978), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Rumpole book?
Forever Rumpole (2011) is the newest Rumpole book released so far.
Is there a new Rumpole book coming?
No next Rumpole book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Rumpole at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Rumpole title on record dates from 2011, 15 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Rumpole books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 3,105 pages across the 14 of 22 books with a recorded length, a median of 210 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Rumpole books, 9 of 22, were published in the 1980s.
What the Rumpole books are about
16 of the 22 Rumpole books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 9 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 9 of 16 books
- Lawyers 8 of 16 books
- English Legal stories 7 of 16 books
- Legal stories 7 of 16 books
- London (England) 7 of 16 books
- Legal stories, English 3 of 16 books
- England 2 of 16 books
- Mystery & detective, traditional 2 of 16 books
More books by John Mortimer
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- John Mortimer books in order 43 books
Series that include Rumpole books
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Rumpole of the Bailey books in order 22 books