Saturday, December 12, 2009

Ten of the best lawyers in literature

For the Guardian, John Mullan pegged ten of the best lawyers in literature.

One lawyer on the list:
Atticus Finch

The lawyer as liberal hero. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, set in 1930s Alabama, Atticus, the narrator's lawyer father, defends a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. Despite demonstrating by his forensic skill that Tom's accusers are lying, he is convicted, and is killed trying to escape. The lawyer has shown us the truth, but lives in a world that is blind to it.
Read about another lawyer to make the list.

To Kill a Mockingbird also made Lisa Scottoline's top 10 list of books about justice and Luke Leitch's list of ten literary one-hit wonders.

--Marshal Zeringue