Fiction and the Law

Klappentext

His study draws on legal and literary theory to trace this important convergence of disciplines in a series of canonical Victorian and Modernist texts.

Zusammenfassung
Law and literature have been two of the most powerful discourses in the construction of social reality. The relationship between the two has emerged as a vital new area of study, as literary representation has proved immensely influential in framing popular understanding of law.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements; 1. Narrative forms and normative worlds; 2. The modern Western nomos; 3. True testimony and the foundation of nomos - The Heart of Midlothian; 4. Reformist critique in the mid-Victorian 'legal novel' - Bleak House; 5. Representation, inheritance and anti-reformism in the 'legal novel' - Orley Farm; 6. Power, chance and the rule of law - Billy Budd, Sailor; 7. From sympathetic criminal to imperial law-giver - Lord Jim; 8. Freedom, uncertainty and diversity - the critique of imperialist law in A Passage to India; 9. Settling out of court; Notes; Index.