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Dickens and His Lawyers

Dickens and His Lawyers

Author: Paul Howcroft
Publisher: Talbot Publishing
ISBN: 9781616196868

Published In: October 2023
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only
Hardback Edition ISBN: 9781616196851

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Description
Contents

Details

The life and works of Charles Dickens were permeated by lawyers and the legal system. As a boy, he endured his father's imprisonment for debt. At 17, he became a solicitors' clerk. At 19, he became a court reporter and later a parliamentary reporter. As a successful author, he engaged in litigation to protect his copyright and campaigned for law reform. He had numerous friends and acquaintances in the legal world and, near the end of his life, his son Henry chose to follow a career at the bar. Most of Dickens' novels have legal themes and lawyers that are usually portrayed with his dark and ironic humour.

Dickens' personal involvement and fictional creations within the legal world are drawn together and put into context by an author who has spent a career practicing as a lawyer in central London. He brings an in-depth knowledge and experience of a legal world that still reflects the one known to Dickens. This includes its lawyers, clerks, judges, courts, offices and ancient inns of court. This book is partly biographical and partly a study of the Victorian legal world based on the many descriptive extracts from the novels. The legal characters are examined in detail with extensive quoted passages, providing an entertaining anthology and a useful work of reference.

Map: Dickens' Legal London

Preface

Style Notes

Introduction

Childhood

In Legal Practice

The Various Courts

The Various Lawyers

The Inns

Firms and Offices

Reformers and Cynics

Observing and Reporting