I thought this was an excellent measure of a writer: to have created an "imperishable fictional hero."

Sir John Mortimer, who died this January at 85, left behind an imperishable fictional hero (the roguish Horace Rumpole of the Old Bailey), a celebrated legal career, and a ringing defense of delight—profane or profound—in the face of human darkness.

Here, then, is an article about this writer and character from Vanity Fair.