Order of Book Series
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Rumpole of the Bailey Books in Order

Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer contains 22 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.

See all 22 books in order Printable Rumpole of the Bailey checklist

Horace Rumpole is a London barrister, and John Mortimer, a barrister himself, built the books out of scripts he had already written for television. The adaptations began in 1978 with Rumpole of the Bailey, and 22 catalogued titles follow, among them Rumpole's Return (1980), The Trials of Rumpole (1981), Rumpole for the Defence (1982), Rumpole and the Golden Thread (1983) and Rumpole's Last Case (1988). Anthologies and omnibus collections sit inside that count, Forever Rumpole (2011) the last of them.

How many Rumpole of the Bailey books are there?

Rumpole of the Bailey has 22 books, released between 1978 and 2011.

Rumpole of the Bailey Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 22 Rumpole of the Bailey 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.

  1. Cover of Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer, book 1 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1978)
  2. Cover of Rumpole’s Return by John Mortimer, book 2 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1980)
  3. Cover of The Trials of Rumpole by John Mortimer, book 3 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1981)
  4. Cover of Regina V. Rumpole by John Mortimer, book 4 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1981)
  5. Cover of Rumpole for the Defence by John Mortimer, book 5 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1982)
  6. Cover of Rumpole on Trial by John Mortimer, book 12 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1992)
  7. Cover of The Best of Rumpole by John Mortimer, book 13 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1993)
  8. Cover of Rumpole and the Angel of Death by John Mortimer, book 15 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (1995)
  9. Cover of Rumpole and the Primrose Path by John Mortimer, book 17 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (2003)
  10. Cover of Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer, book 18 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (2004)
  11. Cover of Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer, book 19 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (2006)
  12. Cover of The Anti-Social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole / Rumpole Misbehaves by John Mortimer (2007)
  13. Cover of Rumpole at Christmas / A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer, book 21 of the Rumpole of the Bailey series (2009)
  1. 1
    Rumpole of the Bailey1978 · 208 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Rumpole’s Return1980 · 159 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980159
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Trials of Rumpole1981 · 205 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981205
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Regina V. Rumpole1981 · 344 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981344
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Rumpole for the Defence1982 · 186 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Rumpole and the Golden Thread1983 · 252 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Rumpole for the Prosecution1986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Rumpole's Last Case1988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Rumpole and the Age of Miracles1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Rumpole and the Age for Retirement1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Rumpole a La Carte1991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Rumpole on Trial1992 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Best of Rumpole1993 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Rumpole and the Younger Generation1995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Rumpole and the Angel of Death1995 · 260 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995260
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Rumpole Rests His Case2002 · confirmed 2/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Rumpole and the Primrose Path2003 · 211 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003211
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders2004 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Rumpole and the Reign of Terror2006 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Anti-Social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole / Rumpole Misbehaves2007 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Rumpole at Christmas / A Rumpole Christmas2009 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Forever Rumpole2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Rumpole of the Bailey?

No separate chronological order is on record for Rumpole of the Bailey, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Rumpole of the Bailey books in order?

You should read the Rumpole of the Bailey books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Rumpole of the Bailey book also stands alone.

Where to start with Rumpole of the Bailey

Start with Rumpole of the Bailey (1978), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Rumpole of the Bailey book?

Forever Rumpole (2011) is the newest Rumpole of the Bailey book released so far.

Is there a new Rumpole of the Bailey book coming?

No next Rumpole of the Bailey 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 of the Bailey at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Rumpole of the Bailey title on record dates from 2011, 15 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Rumpole of the Bailey 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 of the Bailey books, 9 of 22, were published in the 1980s.

What the Rumpole of the Bailey books are about

16 of the 22 Rumpole of the Bailey 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 14 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by John Mortimer

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Characters in the Rumpole of the Bailey books

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.