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Marshall Hall
Sir Edward Marshall Hall KC saved more people from the hangman's noose than any other known barrister. In an age of inadequate defence funding, minimal forensic evidence, a rigid moral code making little allowance for human passion and a reactionary judiciary, his only real weapons were his understanding of human psychology and the power of his personality. His charismatic oratory and film star profile made him an Edwardian celebrity. Jurors collapsed and judges wept at the overwhelming power of his performances. Thousands congregated to await the verdicts in the trials in which he appeared for the defence. Curtains were brought down in West End theatres to announce the acquittals he secured. His famous trials included the Camden Town murder, Seddon the Poisoner, the Brides in the Bath, the Green Bicycle Murder and the Murder at the Savoy. As a result of his oratory in these he was adulated as an entertainer, his performances greeted with the same relish as those by the great actors; but he was also loved as a champion of the underdog, who almost single-handedly introduced compassion in to the Edwardian legal system. No other barrister in any age can claim such celebrity, nor such public adoration and affection. Meticulously researched, Marshall Hall: A Law unto Himself is the first modern biography of a complex and influential man and, as a result of access to new material: - Sets the legendary barrister in his social, historical and political context. - Reveals the sensational private life of the man behind the public figure, the two turbulent marriages, and the mistresses. - Tells the full story of his first wife's death. - Examines his magnetic oratory and extraordinary fame from a modern perspective.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2016
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About the author
Sally Smith
5 books145 followersSally Smith spent all her working life as a barrister and later King's Counsel in the Inner Temple. After writing a biography of the famous Edwardian barrister, Sir Edward Marshall Hall KC, she retired from the bar to write full time. A Case of Mice and Murder, her first novel, was inspired by the historic surroundings of the Inner Temple in which she still lives and works and by the rich history contained in the Inner Temple archives. A Case of Mice and Murder is the first in a series starring the reluctant sleuth Sir Gabriel Ward KC.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 22, 2021
I'm for the main an eclectic reader but biographies and sci-fi of the space variety are the big omissions in my book collection. This is only the second one I have read (the first being that of Peter Mandelson, no comments please) and to my surprise I loved it. Rather than the dry life and times of the subject, this was wittily written, light and by the end had me a little in love with Edward Marshall Hall. In fairness Sally Smith did not have the hardest job in creating a readable biography of this barrister's life. Good-looking, sporty, always on the rebellious side, successful, wealthy, charming and involved in some of the most scandalous trials of the late Victorian to Edwardian era he is a gift to anyone recounting his colourful life.
Smith's skill is in not allowing the cases she retells to dominate and so they are recounted through M H's involvement. In many of the cases he provided defence for the death penalty was the sentence for a guilty verdict and although we have often been reminded of the tales of innocent men hanging Smith reminds us that the sentence took a grave toll on the defence team. I had never considered this aspect of why in a civilised society it has no place until Smith sensitively discusses the weight of responsibility, the feelings of helplessness and guilt that you did not manage to save your client from death.
On a lighter note what was enlightening was the sexual antics of the English upper-classes during this period. Clearly you were no-one without a lover and some of the cases make today's public laundering of dirty washing seem anodyne. Virgin births and murderous husband swapping all make an appearance.
While EMH was both feted and discredited for his in court dramatics – high on emotion, low on facts – it was fitting to a time and place where the stakes were significantly higher than today, and for some of the more salacious or celebrity trials probably quite fitting (if you cannot turn a case of libel where the slight was merely suggesting an actress to be older than her true years into a reflection of the ridiculous nature of this being given time in court, then when can you?). His style of defence has moved on – no longer needed as the job of forensic science has meant that you need less reliance on playing to the emotions of the jury, however one can surely still see his legacy in the impassioned, arguably overwrought addresses to the jury in many US courts.
A worthwhile read for everyone interested in trials, the court system or notable crimes of that era.
Smith's skill is in not allowing the cases she retells to dominate and so they are recounted through M H's involvement. In many of the cases he provided defence for the death penalty was the sentence for a guilty verdict and although we have often been reminded of the tales of innocent men hanging Smith reminds us that the sentence took a grave toll on the defence team. I had never considered this aspect of why in a civilised society it has no place until Smith sensitively discusses the weight of responsibility, the feelings of helplessness and guilt that you did not manage to save your client from death.
On a lighter note what was enlightening was the sexual antics of the English upper-classes during this period. Clearly you were no-one without a lover and some of the cases make today's public laundering of dirty washing seem anodyne. Virgin births and murderous husband swapping all make an appearance.
While EMH was both feted and discredited for his in court dramatics – high on emotion, low on facts – it was fitting to a time and place where the stakes were significantly higher than today, and for some of the more salacious or celebrity trials probably quite fitting (if you cannot turn a case of libel where the slight was merely suggesting an actress to be older than her true years into a reflection of the ridiculous nature of this being given time in court, then when can you?). His style of defence has moved on – no longer needed as the job of forensic science has meant that you need less reliance on playing to the emotions of the jury, however one can surely still see his legacy in the impassioned, arguably overwrought addresses to the jury in many US courts.
A worthwhile read for everyone interested in trials, the court system or notable crimes of that era.
January 10, 2019
I first became interested in Marshall Hall through the 1980s TV series The Shadow of the Noose, and when Sally Smith made an appearance at a local arts festival I jumped at the chance to pick up her book. She made an extremely entertaining speaker, one of the best author appearances I've ever seen--but then you'd expect that of a QC (senior courtroom attorney to my US friends).
This biography didn't disappoint--it's very well written and entertaining. Sir Edward Marshall Hall was a biographer's dream, a character so much larger than life that you'd think he was fictional, involved in the kind of cases that made the headlines in his day and are still mentioned. His greatest fame was as defense counsel in a number of sensational murder cases; Smith does a good job of explaining the physical and mental toll such cases took on an advocate in the days when losing the case meant that your client would die at the end of the hangman's rope.
Marshall Hall also had a fascinating, if sometimes sad, private life. His first wife refused to consummate their marriage and then died of a botched abortion of her lover's child; his second marriage produced a daughter but doesn't seem to have been particularly satisfactory. Like most gentlemen of his era, he was able to maintain his extra-marital relationships with complete discretion, ensuring that any biography would suffer from a gaping void in that respect.
Still, I got a good impression of the private side of Marshall Hall; a clubbable man, a ranconteur, a keen sportsman, and a passionate collector of all kinds of precious things. A man who pushed himself so hard (a barrister's income being dependent on his ability to attract cases) that his health suffered badly. A box left to an heiress friend upon his death hints at a long-lasting happy relationship; I hope it was a passionate one, as I can't imagine Marshall Hall doing anything by halves.
My only cavil was that some of the later chapters were arranged thematically rather than chronologically, so that I got a bit confused over the dates of the cases; but it's a very minor point. A great biography to kick off my 2019 reading.
This biography didn't disappoint--it's very well written and entertaining. Sir Edward Marshall Hall was a biographer's dream, a character so much larger than life that you'd think he was fictional, involved in the kind of cases that made the headlines in his day and are still mentioned. His greatest fame was as defense counsel in a number of sensational murder cases; Smith does a good job of explaining the physical and mental toll such cases took on an advocate in the days when losing the case meant that your client would die at the end of the hangman's rope.
Marshall Hall also had a fascinating, if sometimes sad, private life. His first wife refused to consummate their marriage and then died of a botched abortion of her lover's child; his second marriage produced a daughter but doesn't seem to have been particularly satisfactory. Like most gentlemen of his era, he was able to maintain his extra-marital relationships with complete discretion, ensuring that any biography would suffer from a gaping void in that respect.
Still, I got a good impression of the private side of Marshall Hall; a clubbable man, a ranconteur, a keen sportsman, and a passionate collector of all kinds of precious things. A man who pushed himself so hard (a barrister's income being dependent on his ability to attract cases) that his health suffered badly. A box left to an heiress friend upon his death hints at a long-lasting happy relationship; I hope it was a passionate one, as I can't imagine Marshall Hall doing anything by halves.
My only cavil was that some of the later chapters were arranged thematically rather than chronologically, so that I got a bit confused over the dates of the cases; but it's a very minor point. A great biography to kick off my 2019 reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews