A Woman Named Anne

by Henry Cecil

Anne, beautiful and intelligent, stands in the dock accused of adultery. Utterly humiliated by hearing the evidence against her, she is determined to put the record straight. But the prosecution does not play the game she had been expecting and she is forced to change her approach. This duel between a brilliant barrister and a very determined and astute young woman has an unexpected twist that keeps you guessing right to the end.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

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

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witty, breathless dialogue, but dated. Good surprise ending.

[Deepika Booksy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I've come across Henry Cecil - and I must say, he sort of took my breath away... not that it had a complex plot or an intriguing story line or any of those that seem to define a good book, but the non-stop dialogues between the desperate prosecutor, the boorish judge and a subtly insolent 'woman named anne' were witty and humorous and quite clean, considering the circumstances of the alleged crime . the jokes weren't exactly laugh-out-loud, but more with a "dash of chuckles here, a guffaw there"... anyone looking for a breezy read and nothing too serious can definitely have a try at this one, and I dare say, not be disappointed. tip : finish it in one sitting, it's better that way

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quirky English legal novel.

It is organized around the cross examination of Anne Preston in a divorce case. She was named as the co-respondent in the divorce. She denies that she did anything improper. The book opens with the lawyer for the wife opening his cross examination with, "Mrs. Preston, you say you never committed adultery with my client's husband, Mr. Amberly. May I ask why not?"

It is a great story of the twists and turns of a long cross examination. Cecil gets into the head of the two lawyers, the judge and the witnesses. Anne is a very clever witness who holds her own against the questions. The lawyers keep springing new incriminating evidence which she keeps explaining away.

The whole thing ends up with a surprise twist, which was not that much of a surprise for me.

[Giornata_di_sole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lettura molto piacevole e ricca di umorismo!

"Chi non si intende di cose legali ha forse ragione a pensare che se un caso su quattro puo' essere risolto nel modo sbagliato non c'e' giustizia. Ma chi ha detto che essa esista? L'umanita' puo' solo aspirare alla giustizia, e essendo fallibile, qualche volta manca necessariamente il bersaglio.
La giustizia umana non sara' mai perfetta, nemmeno se si ricorrera' a riformatori di leggi, difensori civici e computer; nemmeno se si fondera' la professione di procuratore con quella di avvocato; nemmeno se i redattori di leggi in parlamento saranno costretti a scrivere in un inglese semplice e comprensibile; nemmeno se si concederanno ai giudici meno vacanze. Qualsiasi miglioramento possa essere fatto, ci sara' sempre qualche ingiustizia..."

[Sathya Sekar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Cecil is as hilarious as ever. Full of wit and humor. Lots of passages where you just have to laugh out loud.