A Life of H. L. A. Hart: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream [Hardcover]

Nicola Lacey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2004

H.L.A. Hart was the pre-eminent legal philosopher of the twentieth century. As a scholar he single-handedly reinvented the philosophy of law and revolutionized our understanding of law as a social institution. Hart's approach to legal philosophy was at once disarmingly simple and breathtakingly ambitious, combining the insights of the Utilitarian tradition and the new linguistic philosophy of J.L. Austin and Ludwig Wittgenstein. He sought to elucidate a concept of law that would be of relevance to all forms of law, wherever or whenever they arose.

This book is both an intellectual and a psychological biography, following his life from modest origins as the son of Jewish tailor parents in Yorkshire to worldwide fame as the most influential English-speaking legal theorist of the post-War era. It traces his successive metamorphoses; from Yorkshire schoolboy to Oxford scholar, successful barrister, intelligence officer, philosopher, and, finally, Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford.

Nicola Lacey draws upon Hart's previously unpublished diaries and letters to reveal a complex interior life. Outwardly successful, Hart was in fact tormented by doubts about his intellectual abilities, his sexual identity and his capacity to form close relationships. Her biography also sheds fascinating light on the origins of his ideas, and assesses his overall contribution to the philosophy of law. Above all, it is a chronicle of a life which made an impact far greater than many of us realize.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Lacey's] biography of the greatest legal philosopher since Jeremy Bentham is worthy of its illustrious subject. It is an excellent, gripping piece of work that sheds valuable light on the life of Hart and the lives of many of his contemporaries...An abundance of fasinating material in Lacey's book...One of the many virtues of Lacey's book is that it enhances one's respect for the greatness of Hart's philosophical work by revealing adroitly the emotional turmoil that Hart underwent in so many of his personal and intellectual endeavours...Lacey deserves considerable credit for highlighting the magnitude of Hart's achievements by setting them in the context of his troubled life.

`Lacey paints a rich and valuable picture of postwar Oxford, displaying an insider's sensitivity to the quiet viciousness of academic politics.' Jonathan Derbyshire, FT Magazine, 11-12 Feb 2006

`Lacey has done a superb job. A highly readable narrative. Valuable achievement' London Review of Books

`A book which brilliantly relates Hart's personal life to his academic achievements. Lacey has a remarkable ability to explain both the intellectual issues, his ideas about them, and the objections that have been raised by his views.' TLS

`BY unravelling a life the intensity and gravity of which no one, not even his wife and colleagues, had imagined... Lacey's biography sheds new light on the origins and the depth of Hart's work... A life of H.L.A Hart is a concise and extremely well organized biography irrispite of being a very rich and full one... In spite of its dense content, the biography's prose is clear and fluent throughout, in a style of which Hart would have approved, and this makes it extremely enjoyable to read.' Samantha Besson, German Law Journal

`in retrospect of what she found in Hart's diaries, she seemed the perfect person to take on his biography... she tried to "bring alive on the page the complicated, very human man whom so many readers of his academic work think of as impersonal icon."' Samantha Besson, German Law Journal

`This fascinating and touching biography's secreet lies in a unique intergenerational encounter that turned into a rich, albeit posthumous, human relationship between one of the twentieth century's most brilliant legal philosophers and a younger fellow jurisprude who is most probably one of the most perceptive feminist legal theorists of her generation.' Samantha Besson, German Law Journal

`And the wonderful thing is Professor Lacey never sells Hart s ideas short, never underestimates the content of his work both as a jurist and as a public intellectual even while she brings his family, his circle of friends, and his personality to life. We end up learning as much about secondary rules in the law as we learn about wartime espionage and the lucid prose of this biography makes them both into an enjoyable and profitable experience.' Jeremy Waldron, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law and Philosophy, Columbia University

About the Author

Nicola Lacey is Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Theory at the London School of Economics and Adjunct Professor of Social and Political Theory at the Research School of Social Sciences of the Australian National University. She is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 444 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199274975
• ISBN-13: 978-0199274970
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,214,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Massive Void Filled at Last, January 12, 2005

By 

Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Life of H. L. A. Hart: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream (Hardcover)

For far too long there has not been a full-scale biography of H.L.A. Hart, author of "The Concept of Law." That gap has now been eliminated by this superb biography by Nicola Lacey of LSE. And this is a biography, and not an "intellectual biography" (such as Duxbury's masteful book on Frederick Pollock)which focuses primarily upon the subject's writings and theories--although Lacey addresses Hart's jurisprudential concepts within the framework of developing his life. For those who want to use this volume as an introduction to Hart's substantive work, ample references support the incisive discussion within the text. But the focus here is his life. As such, it is helpful to also read his wife Jennifer Hart's autobiography, "Ask Me No More."

Lacey had access to the most private of Hart's papers, his private diaries. While invaluable insights result, one is almost at times uneasy with the most intimate thoughts that Hart expressed in these writings. Lacey shares this concern, and in a "rule of thumb" describes what guidelines she imposed upon herself in the use of this material. This leads naturally to a second fundamental question--do we really need to know about such intimate issues as sexual orientation in the biography of a jurisprudential thinker? Each reader will have to make their own decision--but one really does get an incomparable insight into Hart the person as a result. In my view, it is healthy to be reminded from time to time that major figures such as Hart are people just like the rest of us and don't reside on some intellectual Olympus.

The narrative is crisp and with the exception of an overly long chapter on Hart's wartime service, never ceases to spark interest. The blending of Hart's theoretical contributions within the context of a biography is a challenge that is more than well met. The fact that Lacey personally knew Hart adds an important dimension as well. Also making apperances are a number of fascinating characters, including Hans Kelsen, Julius Stone, Lon Fuller, Ronald Dworkin and a host of Oxford philosophers. In her "Biographer's Note," Lacey explains a number of key issues she confronted in writing Hart's life, which in itself is an important contribution to the literature on biographical writing. Whether one is particularly interested in legal theory or not, this is simply one of the most extraordinary and important biographies to appear in recent years.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suprisingly, a great read, January 3, 2005

By 

Lawprof (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Life of H. L. A. Hart: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream (Hardcover)

Let me begin by saying that I have no connection at all to the author of this book (I feel such disclaimers are needed on Amazon.com). I picked up this book because, as a law professor, I wanted a bit of biographical background on H.L.A. Hart, perhaps the most important legal philosopher of the 20th century. Hart's writings are dense and hard even for experts to understand -- so I expected his biography to be equally dry. I am very happy to say that this book is virtually a page turner. The Da Vinci code it's not, but it is something more valuable -- a fascinating look at a very, very complex individual.
(...) I found the book particularly engaging because of my interest in legal philosophy, ordinary language philosophy, and Ronald Dworkin. Non-academics might find the author's discussion of these difficult subjects hard to follow and frustrating. However, the author does not obsess about these difficult matters and on the whole handles these technical subjects with grace and a soft touch. I would recommend the book to any person who is interested in the private life of a public philosopher. For those with an interest in legal philosophy and particularly modern positivism, this book is a "must read." Nicola Lacey -- Bravo!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man behind the Initials, July 2, 2005

By 

mojavejoe "mojavejoe" (Mentone Beach) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Life of H. L. A. Hart: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream (Hardcover)

I couldn't put this book down. Nicola Lacey is a surprisingly good biographer. "Surprisingly" because Ms. Lacey is not (or was not until now) a professional biographer, but a legal academic.

The book makes you want to dust off "The Concept of Law" again and take up sides in the Hart/Dworkin debate. Because Hart comes across as such a loveable great guy you'll find yourself rooting for him.

On that note, I could have used more legal philosophy, rather than less (as some reviewers suggest), but this is a very minor criticism. I also looked forward to the moment when Ms. Lacey herself would appear on the scene (she knew Hart personally), as she indicated in her preface, but I did not see her.

American readers will be mystified (but only slightly) by Ms. Lacey's not infrequent use of the adjective "shambolic" (may there always be an England!), which if I'm not mistaken means something like it sounds: a bucolic shambles, which is, by the way, not what this book is--it is, rather, an elegantly written biography that is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying.

And note to Oxford Press: put Hart's "Punishment and Responsibility" back in print! It is only one of the four most important books written on criminal law in the last one hundred years! (the other three being: George Fletcher's "Rethinking Criminal Law", R.A. Duff's "Criminal Attempts", and Michael Moore's "Placing Blame: A General Theory of the Criminal Law".)