Description
Book SynopsisA TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR
A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WATERSTONES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR
''Superbly told'' Simon Heffer, DailyTelegraph
''A hamper of treats'' Sunday Telegraph
''[Grant employs] scholarship and depth of evidence'' London Review of Books
''These tales of eleven trials are shocking, squalid, titillating and illuminating: each of them says something fascinating about how our society once was'' The Times
''Deceptively thrilling'' Sunday Times
''Excellent . . . Thomas Grant offers detailed accounts of eleven cases at the Old Bailey''s Court Number One, with protagonists ranging from the diabolical to the pathetic. There is humour . . . but this is ultimately an affecting study of how the law gets it right - and wrong'' Guardian
Court Number One of the Old Bailey is the most famous court roo
Trade Review
A hamper of treats, a series of beautifully judged vignettes ... Grant excels himself ... He is a master at conveying the cut-and-thrust of cross-examination, managing to maintain a sense of speed while making sure the reader does not miss the cultural or legal context. His style is drily witty, but just when you start to think he is a bit too detached from what are, after all, matters of life and death, he soars into a rhetorical flight ... Very moving * Sunday Telegraph *
The Old Bailey might be a Jacobean theatre, at times. But like this deceptively thrilling book, it also stands for something very serious * Sunday Times *
Excellent . . . Thomas Grant offers detailed accounts of 11 cases at the Old Bailey's Court Number One, with protagonists ranging from the diabolical to the pathetic. There is humour . . . but this is ultimately an affecting study of how the law gets it right - and wrong * Guardian *
Elegantly written, carefully researched -- John Jolliffe * Counsel *
Thrilling ...In meticulous detail Grant rehearses the context and events of each case, the trial proceedings and the ripples they caused beyond the courtroom ... [he] creates a compelling narrative around each * The Times *
In the old cases outlined, we see recurring human weaknesses that really do tell us as much about our own society as about those of the past. * Daily Telegraph *
Grant writes with the style and fluency of a far more experienced author. He makes judicious use of his rich material -- Michael Beloff * TLS *
Fascinating * Literary Review *
