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9781501739347

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At a time of international obsession with the power to pardon, Bernadette Meyler's Theaters of Pardoning could not be more timely or trenchant. Meyler deftly traces the genealogy of pardons through the various theaters in which they were performed-from the dramatic, to the legal, to the social-in seventeenth-century England. She argues that the tension internal to the traditional pardon, which excused individuals from the power of the state precisely by amplifying the sovereign's absolute power, ill suits such pardons for a liberal democracy committed to the rule of law. Meyler then reconstructs the pardon power by looking at possibilities elaborated in literature, though not yet in law-contending for a move from pardons bestowed by sovereigns to forgiveness granted by citizens to each other. As I watched the argument unfold, I was hard pressed to think of another scholar today with such a muscular command of political, legal, and literary theory. -- Kenji Yoshino, New York University I read this book with real interest and genuine excitement about its interventions in the field of Shakespeare studies and the larger fields of law, literature, and political philosophy. Theaters of Pardoning is elegant, persuasive, and impressive. -- Henry S. Turner, Rutgers University, author of <I>The Corporate Commonwealth</I> Theaters of Pardoning brilliantly demonstrates the close link between sovereignty and pardoning in English law. Bernadette Meyler's deep knowledge, combined with her breathtaking breadth and depth, has resulted in a truly remarkable project. -- Julia R. Lupton, University of California, Irvine, author of<I> Shakespeare Dwelling</I>

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Bernadette Meyler is Carl and Sheila Spaeth Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Curriculum and Professor (by courtesy) of English at Stanford University. She is the co-editor of New Directions in Law and Literature and The Oxford Handbook of Law and Humanities. Follow her on X @MeylerBernie.

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