Advanced Introduction to Law and Literature

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.

Peter Goodrich presents a unique introduction to the concept of jurisliterature. Highlighting how lawyers have been extraordinarily productive of literary, artistic and political works, Goodrich explores the diversity and imagination of the law and literature tradition. Jurisliterature, he argues, is the source of legal invention and the sign of novelty in judgments.

Key features include:

• a literary approach to viewing law
• exploration of the visual culture of the law
• engagement with the affective and performative practices of jurisliterature
• analysis of the legal style and traditional literary practices of lawyers and judges from an historical perspective.

This Advanced Introduction will be a useful and concise guide for scholars and students of law and literature. It will also be beneficial for students and teachers of courses on jurisprudence, law and the humanities and socio-legal studies.