Some Experiences of a Barrister’s Life

Undated but circa 2020.  A modern reproduction of the original 1883 (seventh edition) published by Richard Bentley & Son.  xxvi, 484pp.  Plain laminated stiff card covers.  8vo.  Some gentle edge wear to slightly shelf worn card covers, with some minor signs of handling, else neat, clean, bright and tight throughout.

The reminiscences of William Ballantine (18`2-1887), an English Serjeant-at-law (a position that was abolished as part of the reforms of the legal system in England in the 1870s).  A career barrister, Ballantine was also immersed in London’s dramatic and literary society,, meeting many writers and actors – a group who often furnished his legal clients, enabling him to create a large legal practice.  Flamboyant, and a formidable examiner, Ballantine was a flamboyant public figure but eventually died in poverty and obscurity in Margate.  His notable cases included The Mordaunt Divorce Trial, the prosecution of Franz Muller for the murder of Mr Briggs, the prosecution of Madame Rachel for fraud, the defence of the Tichborne Claimant and the defence of the Maharaja of Baroda in 1876.