Overview

The Recollections of Sir James Bacon, a leading light in the evolution of English law during the 19th century, casts an unexpectedly amusing and high-spirited light on turbulent times. Celebrated in his maturity as a witty judge whose decisions were rarely challenged, he was born in humble circumstances, one of ten children. His Recollections describe a happy and industrious, albeit Dickensian, childhood that began with leaving school for work at age twelve and ended with him enshrined as one of highest officials in the land. Enterprising and gifted, Sir James's story carries us through his early writings and journalism, through his legal career, to his arrival at the pinnacle of government. Sir James also chronicled the colorful panoply of British society in his times: social and political crises, friends imprisoned for gambling debts, travels to Europe in the era of reaction and revolution, the celebrated legal cases he witnessed, and the fascinating Britons he knew. This fresh account, published after 150 years in the family archive, is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Britain, the evolution of its unparalleled legal tradition, and the extraordinary figures who made it possible.

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9781680535327

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Reviews

"Sir James Bacon's Recollections paint a portrait of many of the leading characters of the time, cases he judged, and historic events as they took place. Written with warmth and humour, and carefully preserved by his descendants, they throw an intimate, revealing light on the period in which he lived. They have the immediacy of true experience."""" – Lord Crathorne, KCVO, KStJ, FRSA, FRS, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Arts and Heritage Group, formerly Patron of the Friends of the Public Records Office, and author of family histories. """"A fascinating account, with much interesting comment on the legal dignitaries of the time"""" – David Lewis Jones, CBE, Librarian, House of Lords, 1991-2006"

Author Information

Juliette de Marcellus, author and journalist, is a great-great-granddaughter of Sir James Bacon. She has produced this book from his unpublished memoirs. In addition to a lifetime career as journalist and critic, Miss de Marcellus, has edited and overseen the publication of two celebrated anthropological studies, The Atlas of Man and The Atlas of Language, by her father, Count Henri de Marcellus. She is also the author of two satirical works, a novel, The Princess, or the I Love Paris Ball and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Carnegie Hall.

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