A Book About Lawyers

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

27785

Title

A Book About Lawyers

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A charming historical survey of English legal life, this book explores the domestic, social, and professional worlds of barristers from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Blending wit with nostalgia, it reveals how lawyers once lived, loved, and entertained themselves within the Inns of Court, offering a vivid glimpse into a vanished era of legal tradition.

Summary up to 500 words

John Cordy Jeaffreson's *A Book About Lawyers* offers a richly detailed portrait of the English legal profession, blending social history with cultural commentary. The work is structured into nine distinct parts, exploring the lives of barristers through themes of houses, loves, money, costume, music, theatricals, education, mirth, and domestic life. A central narrative thread contrasts the vibrant, family-oriented existence of earlier barristers—who often lived with their wives and children in chambers—with the later, more austere, and business-focused reality of the profession. Jeaffreson vividly describes how the Inns of Court once served as centers of domestic warmth and artistic expression, where families thrived in modest quarters, rather than the isolated, male-dominated environments of the modern era. The text is populated with colorful anecdotes about famous figures, highlighting their literary pursuits, personal quirks, and occasional professional incompetence. Jeaffreson recounts the stories of Lord Erskine, Chief Justice Jeffreys, and Francis Bacon, illustrating the humanity behind the legal robes. He also examines the profound relationship between law and literature, noting the long succession of eminent writers who were also lawyers or resided in the Inns. The book celebrates a time when legal colleges were hubs of intellectual camaraderie, featuring musical services, amateur theatricals, and a blend of wit and scholarship. Through humorous stories, poetic verses, and historical reflections, Jeaffreson preserves the memory of a profession that once valued domestic life and artistic expression as much as legal acumen, ultimately celebrating the diverse personalities and cultural contributions of the English legal community.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27785.epub.noimages

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data/epubs/pg27785.epub

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Downloaded at

2026-07-05 04:08 UTC

Categories

• Great Britain
• Law