A Life of H. L. A. Hart The Nightmare and the Noble Dream

To generations of lawyers, H. L. A. Hart is known as the twentieth century's greatest legal philosopher. Whilst his scholarship revolutionized the study of law, as a social commentator he gave intellectual impetus to the liberalizing of society in the 1960s. But behind his public success, Hart struggled with demons. His Jewish background, ambivalent sexuality, and unconventional marriage all contributed to a profound insecurity; allegations of espionage, though immediately quashed, nearly destroyed him. Nicola Lacey's biography explores the forces that shaped an extraordinary life. Book jacket.

Nicola Lacey is Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Theory at the London School of Economics and Adjunct Professor of Social and Political Theory at the Research School of Social Sciences of the Australian National University. She is a Fellow of the British Academy.