According to the Evidence [Paperback]

Henry Cecil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1988

Alec Morland is on trial for murder. He has tried to remedy the ineffectiveness of the law by taking matters into his own hands. Unfortunately for him, his alleged crime was not committed in immediate defence of others or of himself. In this fascinating murder trial you will not find out until the very end just how the law will interpret his actions. Will his defence be accepted or does a different fate await him?

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Cecil, known to many as His Honour Judge H.C. Leon, MC, was a High Court judge as well as a famous author. He wrote during the three-week-long family holidays which were usually spent in comfortable hotels in Britain. He would sit in a deck chair in a sunny garden, exercise book on lap and pen in hand, writing from 10 am to 1pm, then again from 2.30 to 4 pm each day. His writing career is attributed to his Second World War experiences. Sailing around the Cape on a 'dry' troop ship on the way to Cairo, the colonel asked his adjutant (Cecil) to tell stories to keep the officers' minds off alcohol. The stories were so popular that they became a regular feature, and formed the basis of his first collection, 'Full Circle', published in 1948. Thereafter, the legal year, his impressions at court, or at other official functions, as well as dinners at the Savoy Grill or at his club, the Garrick, all provided material for his considerable brain power. Many of his stories were made into films or plays - notably 'Brothers-in-Law' and 'Alibi for a Judge'. These and other books have also provided a stimulus for those wishing to take up law as a career. They are a delight for those who look for authenticity in the most aptly described British characters. Cecil died in May 1976, still at the height of his mental powers. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers (March 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897332954
• ISBN-13: 978-0897332958
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,945,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid example of English Humour, December 27, 2004

By 

Martin Andrade "Media Gurgitator" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: According to the Evidence (Paperback)

It is difficult for many Americans to appreciate British humor. It tends to be subtle, and much like the language, it tends to emphasis different elements of funny. Aericans demand a punchline, whereas or brothers across the pond seem to only need an unusual situation. British humor is one where the circumstances are funny, and the climax is unimportant. Cecil writes with this delicate form of humor, this British sense of situation and circumstance. His characters are the caricatures of believable personalities, and his tale of justice stems from his own great experience as a Judge for Her Majesty.

This book is a crime novel. There's no mystery to it, we know from the start who the killers are, how and why they killed. The protaganist, Alec Moreland, commits murder for only the most upright and moral reasons. He performs nearly the perfect murder. Eventually, the police knock on his door, and he and his fiance panic. Enter Ambrose Low, an intelligent and slick stockbroker with a penchant for solving problems. Low's goal is to get Moreland acquitted. The road after is a series of homurous circumstances and situations that one cannot but love for their near believablitiy.

One of the interesting devices Cecil uses is to have long dialogues of testimony. He does this a lot, many times it shows the near idiocy of standard lawyerly witness questioning, and sometimes it show the near incomprehensibility of witness testimony. This book is a quick and delightful read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit too naive to be true, June 16, 2004

By 

Geert Daelemans (Leuven Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: According To The Evidence (Paperback)

On December 12th at about six o'clock in the evening Ellen Wimslow leaves here house to do some shopping. She never returns. When her body is found, all evidence points to one single man: Gilbert Essex. To great astonishment of the public he is found not guilty due to the fact that all the evidence acquired was circumstantial. Nobody is surprised when a few days later another woman is killed. But that woman was his last victim, because not long after Gilbert Essex gets murdered himself. This time the murderer of a murderer stands trial. Nobody is sure if he deserves to be hanged or to receive a medal?

Henry Cecil likes to play with the morale of the reader by creating some situation that provokes a lot of discussion. This is certainly the case in According to the Evidence (1954) in which he investigates if some murders can be seen as permissible. No matter what the opinion of the reader may be, it is still enjoyable to watch the author play with the juristic system and try to push it as far as possible. The humorous style of Henry Cecil makes it all quite digestible, although at times it tends to exhibit a naivety that kills off the authenticity of the story.