Creator of the mysteries starring the beloved English barrister, Horace Rumpole, John Mortimer paints a spirited portrait of his own colorful life in his quirky autobiography, Clinging to the Wreckage. With wit and style, he takes you from his austere childhood in a 1930s British boarding school to his successful dual career in law and writing during the 1980s. Raised on his barrister father's sordid tales of divorce cases, young John Mortimer grew up to view the world with an acute sense for the absurd. As an adult, he has maintained his huge appetite for laughter and life despite his daily legal work defending violent criminals and handling shipwrecked marriages. Novelist, playwright, and esteemed former barrister, John Mortimer draws on his many talents to create his wry, urbane memoirs. Patrick Tull's splendid narration of this sophisticated book will have you laughing out loud and asking for more.
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"Some of his sentences can be convoluted but they are bright and insightful. He made me laugh. He made me cry. I keep going back to revel in the construction of his stories, his delivery, his impact."
— Sherry (5 out of 5 stars)
" This memoir is more a short collection of amusing personal anecdotes than a detailed autobiography. "
— Triffid, 2/18/2013" The blurb on the book's cover raises one's expectations. Although an interesting and humourous read, I didn't feel the book matched the hyperbole, and was left feeling a little bit disappointed. "
— P., 1/7/2013" Anecdotal and easy to read, would love to have had him for a dinner party. "
— Cheryl, 12/12/2012" A man from another age, now passed. Plenty of LOL's in there for me. "
— JamesMarinero, 8/26/2011" A man from another age, now passed. Plenty of LOL's in there for me. "
— JamesMarinero, 7/2/2011" This memoir is more a short collection of amusing personal anecdotes than a detailed autobiography. "
— Triffid, 7/8/2007John Mortimer (1923–2009) was a playwright, novelist, and barrister. He wrote many radio, film, and television scripts, including the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey, and won the British Academy Writer of the Year Award in 1979. He retired from the bar in 1984 and was knighted in 1998.
Patrick Tull (1941–2006), born in the United Kingdom, was a multitalented actor of the stage, screen, and television, as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. He acted in numerous American television shows from 1962 to 1996, including Crossroads, and he had roles in six Broadway plays between 1967 and 1992, including Amadeus. His film credits from 1969 to 1996 included roles as Cecil in Parting Glances and Jerry the bartender in Sleepers. He served as narrator for the television series Sea Tales. He narrated nearly forty audiobooks, and his readings of The Canterbury Tales, The Letter of Marque, Monk’s Hood, The Vicar of Wakefield, and How Green Was My Valley each earned him an AudioFile Earphones Award. His narration of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels was praised by novelist Stephen King as among his ten favorite audiobooks of 2006.