Truth with Her Boots On

by Henry Cecil

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 miscarriages of justice. The drama which then unfolds makes a formidable and fascinating adventure which has twists and turns right to the very last page.

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

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

[Kavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Cecil is a retired judge and writes humorously about legal issues. In this book, we have a judge who has an abhorrence of speaking lies, and ends up having to resign his position because he lies to save his friend's marriage. After this, he finds himself at a loose end and jumps at the chance to investigate a case of insurance fraud.

The book brings out the interesting past of the legal system in the 20th century and gives us a glimpse into the workings of the courts during this period. Cecil can write funny situations and dialogues very well, and this book is no exception. He gets himself an assistant called PM, who helps him find evidence once he himself has uncovered the truth. Their discussions with each other and with the suspects hilarious. Even the final sentence of the book left me smiling.

This is not great literature, but I recommend it highly for anyone who just wants a fun read for relaxing.

[Walter Sylesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed humorous anecdote on Judge Julian Whitehall's quest to find truth, on and off the Bench. The ending to each of these plots always left me with a hearty laugh! Perfect book to finish my legal internship and slowly ease my way into reading something other than case laws and briefs!