A dour and highly-respected High Court Judge finds himself on trial for the murder of a prostitute. He has no recollection of the events leading up to the murder so believes he may be guilty. His daughter, however, is convinced of his innocence, so she enlists the help of a petty thief to help solve the complex mystery.

Roger Thursby, aged twenty-four, is called to the bar. He is young, inexperienced and his love life is complicated. He blunders his way through a succession of comic adventures including his calamitous debut at the bar. His career takes an upward turn when he is chosen to defend the caddish Alfred Greenat the Old Bailey. In this first Roger Thursby novel Henry Cecil satires the legal profession with his usual wit and insight.

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 which keeps you guessing right to the end.

What does it feel like to be a Judge? Read these stories and you can almost feel you are looking at proceedings from the lofty position of the Bench. With a collection of eccentric and amusing characters, Henry Cecil brings to life the trials in a County Court and exposes the complex and often contradictory workings of the English legal system.

Lucy Meeson-Smith works at a big bookmakers and always manages to back the back winners. Her employers become suspicious and take her to court for fraud. At her trial it is revealed that her father, a vicar, studies form avidly and is a brilliant tipster (though he himself is not a betting man). The judge in the case, Mr Justice Painswick is most intrigued by the evidence. His own personal life is complicated by his son - a thoroughgoing cad who is deeply in debt. Find out how these person...

Judge Julian Whitehall is a man of the highest moral integrity. He is approaching retirement age but still has a little time to serve. Suddenly, to the enormous surprise of everybody, he retires early. It transpires that an old friend has asked him to lie on his behalf. Deciding that loyalty to a friend is more important than loyalty to the public, he helps his friend but immediately resigns. The judge cannot get used to retirement so he spends his time studying cases of possible miscarria...

Mrs Vernay and her husband live in a flat above the Chambers of Brian Culsworth Q.C. in the Temple. One day Mrs Vernay receives a visit from a Mr Sampson and she gets the impression that he is a blackmailer. She then immediately seeks advice from Mr Culsworth in his chambers below. Mr Culsworth's client, a Mr Baker is bringing an action to recover his share on a win on the pools. The story of these people becomes inextricably linked in a brilliant novel of suspense and humour.

What does an elderly judge do when he is confronted by a man who wants to kill him for a death sentence he had given out years before? 'Portrait of a Judge' is the first fascinating story in this collection of short stories based on all matters legal. Written with cracking pace and full of unexpected twists, paradoxes and subtleties the book will have you riveted to the very last page.

When Basil Merridew and his 'nephew', Nicholas Drewe, arrive in the prosperous village of Tapworth Magna their neighbours are unprepared for the upheaval that is to follow. The new arrivals' short period of residence in the village ends when Basil takes out a slander action against twenty-two of his neighbours and pockets £10,000 as a settlement. This is just the first episode in a fascinating plot which has our two heroes using the subtleties of the law to plan ever more convoluted and in...

Harry Woodstock is a lazy but amiable criminal who would rather live by fraud than by working .He is very comfortable in Albany Prison, Isle of Wight where a clergyman visits him in an attempt to reform his character. When he is out of prison he stays with a friend in Albany, Piccadilly and tries to avoid a violent criminal who is convinced Harry defrauded him out of £60,000. Understandably, Harry feels safer in prison so, when not dodging his enemy, he spends his time thinking up ways to ...

Mr Justice Carstairs is a High Court Judge. He is completely incompetent and a chronic worrier to boot. This is perfectly illustrated when he sentences a man to ten years' imprisonment and then immediately doubts his verdict. Taking the unprecedented step of trying to overrule his own judgement he encounters resistance on all sides. Matters get really complicated when, in trying to prove the man's innocence, he becomes convinced of his guilt. He also becomes the target of a blackmailer. Fi...

The Bartons are a happy family who are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Then, one day, Mrs Barton wins a large sum on the football pools and their lives change forever. The Bartons are a kind couple and they use their newly won fortune to help their family and friends. This leads them into a tangled web of serious legal and moral problems and they find themselves worse off than before.