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Cannibalism and the Common Law is an enthralling classic of legal history. It tells the tragic story of the yacht Mignonette, which foundered on its way from England to Australia in 1884. The killing and eating of one of the crew, Richard Parker, led to the leading case in the defence of necessity, R. v. Dudley and Stephens. It resulted in their being convicted and sentenced to death, a sentence subsequently commuted. In this tour de force Brian Simpson sets the legal proceedings in their broadest historical context, providing a detailed account of the events and characters involved and of life at sea in the time of sail. Cannibalism and the Common Law is a demonstration that legal history can be written in human terms and can be compulsive reading. This brilliant and fascinating book, a marvelous example of eareful historical detection, and first-class legal history, written by a master.… (more)
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Most, but not all the cases of survival included here involve cannibalism, and Simpson provides legal information throughout. In fact, his chapters of the legal battle involved in the Mignonette began to seem like they would never end, but it does give a thorough insight as to how the court system operated at that time, and explains a little used strategy that would eventually mutate into The Court of Appeals.