Rumpole of the Bailey public school) and studied law at either Keble College or the fictional "St Joseph's College", Oxford, coming away with "a dubious third". He would not be eligible to be called to the Bar in England today, as a lower second is the minimum requirement. He was called to the bar at the "Outer Temple" (a fictional Inn of Court, named on the analogy of the Inner Temple, where John Mortimer was called, and the Middle Temple). Apart from the legal drama in each story, Rumpole also has to deal with his relationships with family and friends. His wife Hilda was
Helen Bailey of a licensing rights company, John Sinfield. She moved from Clerkenwell to Highgate around the same time. Bailey wrote five books of "teenage angst" in the "Crazy World of Electra Brown" series: "Life at the Shallow End" (2008), "Out of my Depth" (2008), "Swimming Against the Tide" (2009), "Taking the Plunge" (2009), and "Falling Hook, Line & Sinker" (2010). She was nominated for a "Queen of Teen" award in 2010. In "Running in Heels" (2011), she featured a new character, Daisy Davenport. Bailey also wrote books for younger children, including the "Willow the Woodsprite" series, the "Topaz" series, and the