John Mortimer's writing roomA guest post from the esteemed Tom Paine on a man who does it his way - John Mortimer:
How the British Establishment hates John Mortimer. Mortimer has consistently critiqued the Blair/Brown Axis’s assaults on our freedoms. He has defended the presumption of innocence, which his most beloved character never failed to proclaim as “the golden thread that runs through British jurisprudence.” Though it is at the very heart of our civilisation - it is now nothing but a profound irritation to the men of power.
Horace Rumpole may, like Sherlock Holmes, have walked the pages of books rather than Literature. Worse, he appeared first as a character in TV comedy. Like Holmes, however, he transcends his origins. He is that rarity, a character with a life of his own. We all know what Rumpole would say and how he would behave in any situation. Rumpole is no suave hero, but he stands alone in modern British culture as a character who believes in freedom under the rule of law, not the terrifying "social justice" so beloved of our sparrow-brained politicians. Mortimer created a character who will live as long as English is read and the principles of the Common Law are understood.
Mortimer will be remembered for breathing life into Horace, but also as a humane, kindly, liberal man. This is more than enough motivation for Christopher Hart to do the most amazing hatchet job in the Times, while purporting to review Valerie Groves’ biography of this flawed, but charming man.
As ever, glimpses are to be seen of the Cromwellism that (much though I personally revere the memory of "our chief of men") I have to acknowledge underlies much that is wrong in British thought. Mortimer’s “affairs of the loins, rather than the heart” might equally have been characterized as free-thinking rejection of bourgeois values, had he not strayed from the paths of Socialist righteousness. How did he stray? He drew the lines of the State’s power rather closer to the individual than you or I might like, but still short of jackboot range.
The quote the sub-editors selected to summarise the attack on this innocent is telling;
That is the thread that runs through their thought and it is far from golden.
How the British Establishment hates John Mortimer. Mortimer has consistently critiqued the Blair/Brown Axis’s assaults on our freedoms. He has defended the presumption of innocence, which his most beloved character never failed to proclaim as “the golden thread that runs through British jurisprudence.” Though it is at the very heart of our civilisation - it is now nothing but a profound irritation to the men of power.
Horace Rumpole may, like Sherlock Holmes, have walked the pages of books rather than Literature. Worse, he appeared first as a character in TV comedy. Like Holmes, however, he transcends his origins. He is that rarity, a character with a life of his own. We all know what Rumpole would say and how he would behave in any situation. Rumpole is no suave hero, but he stands alone in modern British culture as a character who believes in freedom under the rule of law, not the terrifying "social justice" so beloved of our sparrow-brained politicians. Mortimer created a character who will live as long as English is read and the principles of the Common Law are understood.
Mortimer will be remembered for breathing life into Horace, but also as a humane, kindly, liberal man. This is more than enough motivation for Christopher Hart to do the most amazing hatchet job in the Times, while purporting to review Valerie Groves’ biography of this flawed, but charming man.
As ever, glimpses are to be seen of the Cromwellism that (much though I personally revere the memory of "our chief of men") I have to acknowledge underlies much that is wrong in British thought. Mortimer’s “affairs of the loins, rather than the heart” might equally have been characterized as free-thinking rejection of bourgeois values, had he not strayed from the paths of Socialist righteousness. How did he stray? He drew the lines of the State’s power rather closer to the individual than you or I might like, but still short of jackboot range.
The quote the sub-editors selected to summarise the attack on this innocent is telling;
The worst aspects of human nature are laughed away and the dark side is consistently whitewashedGive me friends who laugh away my failings and look to the good in me, rather than the bad. Spare me, I beg, from the puritan who sees only the bad in me, and relishes the excuse it gives to make me a prisoner “for my own good.” In despising Mortimer, the British left/liberal statists let slip how much they despise us all. We are just potential transgressors to them, guilty until proven innocent.
That is the thread that runs through their thought and it is far from golden.
Excellent, Tom and I thank you. Mortimer was one of thoswe, like Chesterton, who bestrode national affairs.
ReplyDeleteLooks a lot more tidy than my room.
ReplyDeleteLast christmas I was given the whole Rumpole series on DVD to add to my complete collection of Rumpole books. A few eyars ago I attended an evening in the theatre where John Mortimer chose his own favourite pieces of prose as well as relating law stories. Even though he was already frail, it was an excellent evening
ReplyDeleteGreat post about a great man, Tom. I've always loved JM because he is honest about his failings and is a genuine lover of liberty. I'd rather have dinner with him than a puritan! What a wonderful room, btw.
ReplyDeleteI have a room just like this. Sadly the quality of prose produced there is not quite the same quality as that of Mr Mortimer.
ReplyDeleteAh, JMB, each to his or her own.
ReplyDelete