The Lawyer In Dickens

The Lawyer in Dickens takes a closer look at the construction of his types of lawyers. While Dickens’s critique of the legal system and its representatives is almost proverbial, a closer look at his lawyers uncovers a complex and ambiguous construction that questions their status as Victorian gentlemen. These characters offer a complex psychology that often surpasses their minor or stereotypical role within various Dickens novels, for they act not only as alter egos for different protagonists, but also exhibit behaviour that reveals their abusive attitude towards women. This book argues that Uriah Heep lays the groundwork for Dickens’s conception of the lawyer in his later works. The close analysis identifies a strong anxiety about the uncertain social status of professionals in the law, but also unfolds a deeply troubled attitude towards women. The novels express admiration for the lawyer’s professional power, yet the individual characters are simultaneously exposed as ungentlemanly. This discussion shows that the lawyer in Dickens is a difficult creature not only because of his professional ambition and social transgression, but also because of his intrusion into the domestic space and into the lives of others, especially women.

In this delightful and humorous book Neely takes a look at the satire and irony in Dickens' work as shown in his derisive characterization of solicitors, barristers, judges and clerks. Lovers of Dickens and anyone acquainted with the law will find this to be an entertaining read.

Based on an address to the Glasgow Dickens Society, this essay praises the author's detailed knowledge of the law and legal community. Indeed, "he made no such mistakes as many authors--even though of high standing--sometimes make. He laid down no bad law...." (78). More important, Fyfe advances the novel argument that his writings "exposed some cruel features of the legal system of his day" and influenced public opinion to demand their reform.

Holdsworth proves that historians should study the novels of Charles Dickens as source material about the workings of English law and legal institutions. He shows how Bleak House highlights the procedures of the Court of Chancery, and Pickwick Papers illuminates the procedure of the common law. The addresses contained in this book were delivered in the William L. Storrs Lecture Series, 1927, before the Law School of Yale University. "The distinguished English historian, Professor Holdsworth, has contrived even during his moments of recreation to render us his debtors. No two books outside the bounds of technical law are more worth reading for law students than Pickwick Papers and Bleak House. Even a trained trial lawyer however, is puzzled by some of the legal points brought up by Dickens, because they have fortunately passed forever out of the realm of living law. Professor Holdsworth has performed a valuable service to lawyers and laymen alike in explaining these obscurities. And he has done much more than this. He has increased our admiration for the genius of Dickens by proving his great merit as a legal historian." Zechariah Chafee, Jr. Harvard Law Review 42:286-8. CONTENTS: I. The Courts and the Dwellings of the Lawyers II. The Lawyers, Lawyers' Clerks, and Other Satellites of the Law III. Bleak House and the Procedure of the Court of Chancery IV. Pickwick and the Procedure of the Common Law Index AUTHOR BIO: Distinguished Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University, Sir William Searle Holdsworth (1871-1944) is widely known for his seminal 17-volume History of English Law as well as others including The Historians of Anglo-American Law, An Historical Introduction to the Land Law, and The Law of Succession.

An elegant discourse on the law and lawyers found in Dickens, Balzac, Scott, Coke and others. A fascinating section examines the historical method of the study of law as illustrated by the law of Master and Servant. With an interesting preface by Wigmore which expounds on literature's practical value to lawyers.

Excerpt from Charles Dickens and the Law Charles dickens was pre-eminently the novelist of the law, and his lawyers have a hold upon the public imagination far surpassing that of any other author. But, although his lawyer creations are most Widely known, he is not the only author who has built a tale upon a legal foundation. A few references selected at random may be interesting by way of contrast. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.