Daughters In Law

by Henry Cecil

Mr Justice Coombe is a well-respected judge who has beautiful twin daughters. One goes to the Bar while the other becomes a solicitor. They each fall in love with the sons of Major Claude Buttonstep. Unfortunately the Major dislikes lawyers and cannot accept his sons' choice of partner. The Major is then unexpectedly forced into litigation with his neighbour, Mr Trotter and events take an interesting turn for everyone concerned . . .

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

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

[Sathya Sekar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entertaining read from the master of courtroom farce. Henry Cecil is to the British court what Heyer was to the regency romance and Christie was to the murder mystery. Mr Cecil walks us through the manners of the court- judges in particular- in a most humorous way. The story itself is a farce. A person borrows his neighbour's - who happens to be a Lawyer-hating and court-hating Major- mower and refuses to return it. The Major us forced to go to court.

It's the way Mr Cecil leads you on providing glimpses into a judge's mentality and that of barristers that makes the book absorbing. It is not a fast read- and gets a tad tedious occasionally- but if one keeps one's patience, laughter may be discovered at every twist and turn.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the vague inkling of a memory is right this one proceeds from Inlaws and Outlaws further, with the couple going ahead and meeting various relatives, and more legal fracas and much hilarity.

Others in series - Fathers in Law, Brothers In Law, and so forth.