H L A Hart was the pre-eminent legal philosopher of the twentieth century. This is both an intellectual and a psychological biography, following his life from modest origins as the son of Jewish tailor parents in Yorkshire to worldwide fame as the most influential English-speaking legal theorist of the post-War era.

Shortlisted for the 2005 British Academy Book prize, Nicola Lacey's entrancing biography recounts the life of H.L.A. Hart, the pre-eminent legal philosopher of the twentieth century. Following Hart's life from modest origins as the son of Jewish tailor parents in Yorkshire to worldwide fame as the most influential English-speaking legal theorist of the post-War era, the book traces his successive metamorphoses; from Yorkshire schoolboy to Oxford scholar, from government intelligence officer to Professor of Jurisprudence, from awkward bachelor to family figurehead. In the tradition of Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein, Nicola Lacey paints an absorbing picture of intellectual and psychological development, of a mind struggling to cope with intellectual self-doubt, uncertain sexuality, a difficult marriage and an anti-semitic society. In depicting the evolution of Hart's life and mind, Lacey provides a vivid recreation of both the intellectual and social climate of Oxford in the post-War era.

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

ISBN:

9780199202775

Publication date:

June 2006

Length:

233mm

Width:

158mm

Thickness:

25mm

Weight:

721g

Pages:

422

Illustrations:

Illustrated

A brilliant mix of tightly reported intimate biography and expert intellectual assessment. --Carlin Romano, The Chronicle of Higher Education
This fascinating and touching biographys secret lies in a unique intergenerational encounter that turned into a rich, albeit posthumous, human relationship between one of the twentieth century's most brilliant legal philosophers and a younger fellow jurisprude who is most probably one of the most perceptive feminist legal theorists of her generation. --German Law Journal
The fascinating biography of a complex and brilliant man. Lacey's account vividly recreates the postwar Oxford climate in philosophy and jurisprudence, and paints Hart's life inside and outside the university with sensitivity, wit, and authority. --Simon Blackburn, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge
And the wonderful thing is Professor Lacey never sells Hart s ideas short, never underestimates the content of his work both as a jurist and as a public intellectual even while she brings his family, his circle of friends, and his personality to life. We end up learning as much about secondary rules in the law as we learn about wartime espionage and the lucid prose of this biography makes them both into an enjoyable and profitable experience. --Jeremy Waldron, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law and Philosophy, Columbia University
A fine piece of work and a good read. Lacey has left absolutely no stones unturned in her search for the writing of this life. The end product is as good as a biography of a distinguished as can beand one that provides a fascinating window into the world of the Oxford dons backin what now seems their golden age.
A.W. Brian Simpson, Michigan Law Review