(1923- )Sir John Mortimer is an English barrister turned prolific writer and dramatist. His oeuvre has over fifty books, plays, and scripts. His most famous creation is a character named Horace Rumpole, a barrister whose specialty is defending those accused of crime in London's redoutable hall of justice, the Old Bailey. Mortimer first chronicled Horace Rumpole's trials in short stories, and then wrote the scripts for the many "Rumpole of the Bailey" TV programs for Thames Television.