Re-interpreting Blackstone's Commentaries ─ A Seminal Text in National and International Contexts

Now available in paperback! This collection explores the remarkable impact and continuing influence of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, from the work's original publication in the 1760s to the present. Contributions by cultural and literary scholars, as well as intellectual and legal historians, trace the manner in which this truly seminal text has established its authority well beyond the author's native shores or his own limited lifespan. In the first section, Kathryn Temple, Simon Stern, Cristina S Martinez, and Michael Meehan discuss the Commentaries' aesthetic and literary qualities as factors contributing to the work's unique status in Anglo-American legal culture. The second group of essays traces the nature and dimensions of Blackstone's impact in various jurisdictions outside England, namely Quebec (Michel Morin), Louisiana and the United States more generally (John W Cairns and Stephen M Sheppard), North Carolina (John V Orth) and Australasia (Wilfrid Prest). Finally Horst Dippel, Paul Halliday, and Ruth Paley examine aspects of Blackstone's influential constitutional and political ideas, while Jessie Allen concludes the volume with a personal account. This volume is a sequel to the well-received collection Blackstone and his Commentaries: Biography, Law, History (ISBN 9781849466424). [Subject: Legal History]

Wilfrid Prest is Professor Emeritus in Law and History at the University of Adelaide.