Thomas Grant QC is a practising barrister and author. His previous books include the
Sunday Times bestseller
Jeremy Hutchinson's Case Histories: From Lady Chatterley's Lover to Howard Marks, and
Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain, a
Telegraph Book of the Year,
Times Book of the Year and Waterstones Paperback of the Year. He lives in Sussex and London.
Sydney Kentridge carved out a reputation as South Africa's most prominent anti-apartheid advocate - his story is entwined with the country's emergence from racial injustice and oppression. He is the only lawyer to have acted for three winners of the Nobel Peace Prize - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Chief Albert Lutuli. Already world-famous for his landmark cases including the Treason Trial of Nelson Mandela and the other leading members of the ANC, the inquiry into the Sharpeville massacre, and the inquest into the death of Steve Biko, he then became England's premier advocate.
Through the great set-pieces of the legal struggle against apartheid - cases which made the headlines not just in South Africa, but across the world - this biography is a portrait of enduring moral stature.
The remarkable story of Sir Sydney Kentridge QC, the greatest living barrister.Well-written, deeply researched and wholly grippingMeticulously researchedA forensic, riveting account of a wondrous and principled advocate, one that brings to life the rule of law and reminds what we might strive to beKentridge is not only one of the finest advocates of all time, he is also one of the finest menThe barrister's barrister . . . a moral stature that no amount of moral forensic technique can impersonateOne of the greatest lawyers of our times - a legal titanA good read . . . well-researched. It can be recommended as a short introduction to the horrific nature of the ancien régime and the risks run and suffering borne by its opponents, as they emerge through the prism of the South African legal systemAnyone who wants a fresh understanding of how South Africa became the polecat of the international community will gain insight from Thomas Grant's gripping telling of the stellar career of Sydney Kentridge and his struggle for justiceIn all of [Grant's] chapters, the role of fearless hugely skilled advocacy in creating a belief that the rule of law matters is luminously documented . . . Grant's description of Kentridge's cross-examination of State witnesses who were cynically employed to convict opponents of the apartheid regime should be compulsory readingIn November [2022], [Sydney] Kentridge will mark his 100th birthday, and Grant's in-depth research sets the scene for a celebration of a remarkable legal tacticianThomas Grant KC has performed a real service by enabling us to get a vivid sense of some of Kentridge's most important cases . . . This is a powerful, but easy, read
