Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #196578 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

John Mortimer
"An hilarious account of the splendid miseries of being a pupil in a barrister's chambers"

Jonathan Sumption, Sunday Telegraph (Review)
...well-written, in a style so close to Evelyn Waugh as to be almost pastiche...

Synopsis
My Brief Career has all the horror of a Dickensian tragedy and all the charm of Bridget Jones' Diaries. An expose of what goes on behind the ancient walls of London's inns of court, this fascinating story dares to reveal the grim secrets of one of England's most archaic institutions...This is a book for everyone who has ever thought they might want to become a lawyer.

Customer Reviews

Hilarious stuff
Every young barrister spends their year of pupillage, following older barristers and learning the essentials of how to do the job. Advocacy can't be studied in books - the only way to learn is by experience. Harry Mount's legal memoir of his year as a pupil barrister is hilarious - every unbearable minute of it. As pupil to a succession of snobbish and patronising middle-aged barristers, he learns the many riduculous conventions of the bar like not shaking hands with other barristers, not talking during tea and wearing turned-up trousers and cuff-links in every shirt.
It's not serious of course - very little to do with the law at all in fact. But Mount is not trying to offer a genuine critique. He's in the entertainment business. This is a risible read and at times, really funny. Many lawyers dislike it because it presents a bad image of the bar and all its pompous history and etiquette. They fail to see the humour. Mount is not saying that all barristers are patronising, self centred, rude, arrogant and intolerant. He's just saying that most of them are!

As a profession that has yet to drag itself into the 20th century let alone the 21st century, there is much to be learned for all lawyers from this very entertaining volume. Its essential humour lies in its proximity to the truth, not its distance from it. My Brief Career is a great way to spend a few hours laughing out loud.

bravo
Delightful, disgraceful, delicious and a really good laugh. This is a seriously witty book that had me giggling on page after page. Funnier than Mortimer, more stylish than Denning - best book about the silly side of the law for a long time. Has great appeal!

just a bit too brief
This is quite a funny book. But it's not as hilarious as its billing would suggest. Mount's terrible year as a pupil barrister reveals many things - most of them centred on how awful English barristers are up close. Our hero is clearly much too nice for this crowd. But what puzzled me is why Mount would want to join such a smug, pompous, self-important bunch of people as he portrays them. It is not a question to which we get a proper answer, except that he clearly idolised the late great George Carman QC.

In this (very slim) volume, we have some funny anecdotes, some sad tales and some self-pitying whingeing. It's certainly an easy read though - maybe a couple of hours from cover to cover. And that's the real problem with it: Mount's brief career receives only very brief treatment - maybe 1/3 the length of the average book. Sorry if I seem greedy, but I wanted more for my money. Made me smile though. Just a bit more next time please, Mr Mount!