THE DRAMA AND THE REALITY AT THE BIRTH OF ADVERSARIAL TRIAL
An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers
To answer the important point in Bryan Gibson’s excellent Preface to this most useful companion to John Hostettler’s main work, yes, the book is a serious historic guide for all those viewers enthralled by the TV series “Garrow’s Law”. It plugs our gaps of knowledge about the reality of the BBC TV drama in both a fair and balanced way to set the record straight.
To many people the study of history is quite disgusting as a subject because the reality is often masked by the creation of myths to hide what has really happened and make it more 'homely and loveable’. So, if in doubt about the truth and the legend… then print the legend!
Legal history in particular is not something lawyers can be proud of concerning sentencing and the original processes of the development of the early common law in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, we learn much from the life of William Garrow and Hostettler’s companion to the series is most welcome.
Garrow’s position is now assured as the pathfinder of modern the adversarial system which has been recognized internationally as the basis of a sound legal system. So what did Garrow achieve- Hostettler sets out to find the truth behind the myths, and he undertakes the task with brilliance and accuracy.
What we have with this new book from Waterside Press is a compliment the BBC series with well-researched details about the three seasons of stories which have been filmed, and the individual cases arising in the episodes which are more extensively explored from the base of historical fact, however horrific it may seem to us today with the excessive use of hanging.
'Garrow’s Law’ was watched by some 5 million people who were captivated by the storylines. What Hostettler does is set the scene of the times in which Garrow lived and the picture we conjure up is compelling. We found this a riveting read from cover to cover and it is a wonderful companion to the BBC series which was so desired by all 'Garrowites’.
Thank you, Bryan Gibson from Waterside Press, and John Hostettler for giving us this extra historic treat to complement the series!