Overview

This collection explores the remarkable impact and continuing influence of William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, from the work’s original publication in the 1760s down to the present. Contributions by cultural and literary scholars, and intellectual and legal historians trace the manner in which this truly seminal text has established its authority well beyond the author’s native shores or his own limited lifespan. In the first section, ‘Words and Visions’, Kathryn Temple, Simon Stern, Cristina S Martinez and Michael Meehan discuss the Commentaries’ aesthetic and literary qualities as factors contributing to the work’s unique status in Anglo-American legal culture. The second group of essays traces the nature and dimensions of Blackstone’s impact in various jurisdictions outside England, namely Quebec (Michel Morin), Louisiana and the United States more generally (John W Cairns and Stephen M Sheppard), North Carolina (John V Orth) and Australasia (Wilfrid Prest). Finally Horst Dippel, Paul Halliday and Ruth Paley examine aspects of Blackstone’s influential constitutional and political ideas, while Jessie Allen concludes the volume with a personal account of ‘Reading Blackstone in the Twenty-First Century and the Twenty-First Century through Blackstone’. This volume is a sequel to the well-received collection Blackstone and his Commentaries: Biography, Law, History (Hart Publishing, 2009).

Full Product Details

Author:   Emeritus Professor Wilfrid Prest (University of Adelaide, Australia)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Hart Publishing
Weight:   0.372kg
ISBN:  

9781509913862

ISBN 10:   1509913866
Pages:   221
Publication Date:   23 February 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

I WORDS AND VISIONS 1 Blackstone's 'Stutter': the (Anti)Performance of the Commentaries Kathryn Temple William Blackstone: Courtroom Dramatist? Simon Stern 2 Blackstone as Draughtsman: Picturing the Law Cristina S Martinez 3 Blackstone's Commentaries: England's Legal Georgic? Michael Meehan II BEYOND ENGLAND 4 Blackstone in the Bayous: Inscribing Slavery in the Louisiana Digest of 1808 John W Cairns Legal Jambalaya Stephen M Sheppard 5 Blackstone and the Birth of Quebec's Distinct Legal Culture 1765-1867 Michel Morin 6 Blackstone's Ghost: Law and Legal Education in North Carolina John V Orth 7 Antipodean Blackstone Wilfrid Prest III LAW AND POLITICS 8 Blackstone's King Paul D Halliday Modern Blackstone: the King's Two Bodies, the Supreme Court and the President Ruth Paley 9 Blackstone's Commentaries and the Origins of Modern Constitutionalism Horst Dippel 10 Reading Blackstone in the Twenty-First Century and the Twenty-First Century through Blackstone Jessie Allen

Reviews

Re-interpreting Blackstone's Commentaries is both instructive and enjoyable. -- Christopher Tomlins * Adelaide Law Review * Overall [Wilf] Prest's work is original and well worth-reading (...) He managed to compile a modern and exciting book, dealing with one of the eternal topics of legal history. (Translated from the original German review) -- Helge Dedek * Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsgeschichte *

Re-interpreting Blackstone's Commentaries is both instructive and enjoyable. -- Christopher Tomlins Adelaide Law Review Overall [Wilf] Prest's work is original and well worth-reading (...) He managed to compile a modern and exciting book, dealing with one of the eternal topics of legal history. (Translated from the original German review) -- Helge Dedek Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsgeschichte

Re-interpreting Blackstone's Commentaries is both instructive and enjoyable. -- Christopher Tomlins Adelaide Law Review

Author Information

Wilfrid Prest is Professor Emeritus in Law and History at the University of Adelaide.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions