Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charade | 1947 | John Mortimer | Buy |
| 2 | Like Men Betrayed | 1953 | John Mortimer | Buy |
| 3 | The Narrowing Stream | 1954 | John Mortimer | Buy |
| 4 | Summer’s Lease | 1985 | John Mortimer | Buy |
| 5 | Dunster | 1992 | John Mortimer | Buy |
| 6 | Felix In The Underworld | 1996 | John Mortimer | Buy |
| 7 | Quite Honestly | 2005 | John Mortimer | Buy |
Outside the Rumpole and Rapstone series, Mortimer wrote standalone novels that explore English society with his characteristic humor. His early novels from the 1940s and 1950s are darker in tone, while later works like “Summer’s Lease” and “Felix In The Underworld” lean into comedy and satire.
These books share Mortimer’s interest in characters caught between their ambitions and the absurd situations life throws at them. Whether set in Tuscany, literary London, or the corridors of power, they carry the same sharp eye for social pretension that defined his career.