Alibi for a Judge

by Henry Cecil

Alibi For A Judge

Genres: Fiction, Crime

206 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Henry Cecil Leon (19 September 1902 – 23 May 1976), who wrote under the pen-names Henry Cecil and Clifford Maxwell, was a judge and a writer of fiction about the British legal system. He was born near London in 1902 and was called to the Bar in 1923. Later in 1949 he was appointed a County Court Judge, a position he held until 1967. He used these experiences as inspiration for his work. His books are works of great comic genius with unpredictable twists of plot, but are not intended to be realistic or strong on characterization. They typically feature educated and genteel fraudsters and blackmailers who lay ludicrously ingenious plots exploiting loopholes in the legal system. There are several recurring characters, such as the drunken solicitor Mr Tewkesbury and the convoluted and exasperating witness Colonel Brain. He writes well about the judicial process, usually through the eyes of a young barrister but sometimes from the viewpoint of the judge; Daughters in Law contains a memorable snub from a County Court judge to a barrister who is trying to patronise him.

His 1955 novel Brothers in Law was made into a film in 1957 and, later, a television and radio series starring Richard Briers. While at Paramount Pictures, Alfred Hitchcock worked on adapting No Bail for the Judge for the screen several times between 1954 and 1960, and hoped to co-star Audrey Hepburn, Laurence Harvey, and John Williams, but the film was never produced.

Reviews

[Graham Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is usually the case with a Henry Cecil novel this one is very amusing but also filled with a lot of factual information on the English legal system. There have been many changes since Henry Cecil wrote his novels, but surprisingly few impact the facts you learn from them. One of the many facts I learned from this one was that if you appeal a criminal conviction and the court finds the appeal without merit, the time between your sentence and the appeal does not count as time served even though you have spent it in prison. Your appeal has therefore actually increased the length of your sentence.

Sometimes it is a bit repetitive, and also some of the imagined conversations to illustrate a legal point are a bit over the top, which is typical Henry Cecil, but my overall reaction is that, dated though it may be, this amusing novel is well worth reading.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a laugh.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading 1963 edition of Penguin number 1992