John Mortimer

His ire raised by a series of procedural abuses through which children have been imprisoned without trial for innocent activities, barrister Horace Rumpole defends a youth who has been targeted for playing on a posh street.

Light Blue for big ideas Green for mystery Orange for fantastic fiction Pink for distant lands Dark Blue for real lives Purple for viewpoints John Mortimer's 'Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders' sees our eponymous hero tackle his first-ever case. It is just after the war and two RAF heroes are found shot dead. Simon Jerold, the son of one of the victims, is the only suspect and young Rumpole is given the hopeless task of defending him. But Rumpole is determined to save his client from the gallows and make a name for himself. His bid to do so opens the first chapter in the story of the law's finest comic creation. Whether orange, blue, green, pink or purple, Penguin Celebrations give readers everywhere unique voices, enthralling stories and quite simply the best books of their kind to be published in recent years. What's not to celebrate?

Taking as his title Byron's description of what life is ("a mere summer of a dormouse"), John Mortimer describes what it is like to be 75 years of age, and feel 11. He has all of the afflictions that his father had at this age, but retains all his youthful enthusiasm.

Felix Morsom has made a decent living as an author. Though his novels no longer hit the bestseller lists, he has been described as the Chekhov of Coldsands-on-Sea, and once was even shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Were it not for the delicious Brenda Bodkin, his publicist, and their endlessly unconsummated passion, his life would be very dull indeed. One day, Felix receives a tape in the mail which reveals the sad tale of Gavin, a man whose life was destroyed by PROD, the Parental Rights and Obligations Department. Shortly thereafter, Felix again hears Gavin, now on a radio phone-in, and a few days later meets him at a book-signing. Gavin introduces the author to Miriam, who assures Felix that he is the father of her child, Ian. Before Felix knows it, he is in receipt of a huge bill for Ian's maintenance and, as if that weren't shocking enough, he soon finds himself the chief suspect in a murder case. To discover the identity of the murderer, our hero has no choice but to enter the underworld and live among the down-and-outs of London. There among the rubbish and the smell of poverty he finds friendship and unexpected grace.

Leslie Titmuss has risen to become Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Ecological Affairs and Planning. But market forces are encroaching on Rapstone Valley. The question is should Titmuss support or withstand these cataclysmic changes?

344 p. ; 22 cm

Julia Swinton, faithful wife and mother of three young children, harbors a half-acknowledged desire for escape from the thousand obligations and tensions of family life. Then one day, the death of an unknown girl whose relationship with Julia's husband is unexplained, and the appearance of the girl's disturbed but attractive brother, compel Julia to take extraordinary steps to protect her family.