An artist at the assizes

Cyril Hare was that rara avis: a circuit judge who could write like an angel

FEW JUDGES ARE KNOWN for their literary distinction, but the old County Court bench, the traditional home of might-have-beens, did produce a fair crop of novelists. Whatever his legal achievements might have been, Thomas Hughes QC (Circuit No. 9, Chester) will always be remembered as the author of Tom Brown’s School Days first and last. H. C. Leon MC (Circuit No. 46, Willesden) only admitted to being the novelist Henry Cecil upon his retirement in 1967; but given that his nom de plume consisted of his Christian names it is difficult to believe he ever fooled anyone. And while John Drabble QC (Circuit No. 1, Northumberland) never achieved popularity with his two gritty, surprisingly modern crime novels, he did leave his name in the records of literature by being the…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, December/January 2025

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