An Eloquence of Literary Lawyers Quiz

Answer: Bleak House

Kenge was a partner in the law firm, "Messrs. Kenge and Carboy, of London", who acted for John Jarndyce, the guardian of Esther Summerson (the heroine of 'Bleak House'). In the novel Dickens' hinted that 'Conversation' was not the man's true name, but it certainly seemed to be an apt nickname for him. Miss Donny, the mistress of the boarding school, Greenleaf, where Esther spent six years as a pupil-governess even described Kenge as:

"A very superior gentleman...Truly eloquent indeed. Some of his periods quite majestic."

The case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce which runs as a theme through the novel was an extremely long-running and complicated court case regarding an inheritance, which nobody really understood. By the end of the novel it was finally resolved, but only because the legal expenses had become so huge that the entire inheritance was swallowed up by the costs.

The incorrect options are all other works by Dickens.

Answer: Erle Stanley Gardner

Erle Stanley Gardner was born in Massachusetts in 1889 and practiced as a lawyer in California until the early 1930s, when he published his early 'Perry Mason' novels. He had a successful career as a writer, publishing other mystery series under the pseudonym A.A. Fair as well as many other works of fiction and non-fiction.

A total of 82 'Perry Mason' novels were published between 1933 and 1973 (the final two of which appeared posthumously). The novels had a wide variety of amusing titles relating to Mason's cases, such as 'The Case of the Lame Canary', 'The Case of the Perjured Parrot' and 'The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito' (I could go on, but would probably end up listing almost all of them).

Gardner's novels were adapted (and expanded on) by the US TV series 'Perry Mason', starring Raymond Burr, which ran from 1957 to 1966. Additionally, they were turned into a series of 26 TV movies (also starring Burr) and also formed the basis for films by Warner Brothers, radio stories and comic books.

William Peter Blatty wrote 'The Exorcist', William S. Burroughs is famed for 'Naked Lunch', and Hunter S. Thompson wrote 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'.

Answer: Mr Briggs

To be fair to Mr Briggs, he was quite right to object to the wedding given that Mr Rochester was about to become a bigamist - poor Jane had no idea that her husband-to-be had his mad (and somewhat murderous) wife locked up in the attic.

Briggs is introduced as the attorney of John Eyre of Madeira - Jane Eyre's long-lost uncle - and had a pretty small, but pivotal, role in the novel. In addition to saving his client's niece from the bigamous marriage, he also later contacts Jane's cousin, St John Rivers, to inform him that the poor, almost penniless ex-governess has become a wealthy heiress.

Mr Lloyd was the apothecary who treated Jane Eyre at her aunt's house in Gateshead, Mr Brocklehurst was the cruel director of Lowood School, and Mr Eshton was one of the guests who stayed at Thornfield Hall prior to Jane's engagement to Mr Rochester.

Answer: The Diggers Club

'Kangaroo' is a semi-autobiographical novel that appears to draw on experiences Lawrence gained while on a three month visit to Australia with his wife in 1922. 'Digger' was used in the Australian and New Zealand military as a slang term for a soldier, particularly those who fought in the First World War. The fictional Diggers Club seen in 'Kangaroo' is described as having been formed by soldiers recently returned from that conflict.

As leader of the Diggers Club it should be no surprise that the character of Benjamin Cooley had also been a soldier in addition to his career in the law. He was called "Kangaroo" because he was supposed to have a kind of kangaroo-like appearance. Lawrence described him with a face that was "long and lean and pendulous"; a head that was "smallish" and "carried rather forward on his large, but sensitive, almost shy body"; and said that he "leaned forward in his walk".

The Diogenes and Drones Clubs are gentlemen's clubs that appear in works by Arthur Conan Doyle and P.G. Wodehouse respectively. The Dark Side Club is an evil underground group that appears in DC Comics.

Answer: Consigliere

Tom Hagen became part of the Corleone family after he was found wandering the streets at the age of 11 by Vito's eldest son, Santino or Sonny. Hagen was given an education and eventually graduated as a lawyer. His gratitude and loyalty to Vito Corleone meant that he wanted to work for the family, even though he was barred from joining the Mafia due to his non-Italian heritage. Corleone solved this problem by making Hagen his 'consigliere' - although he was later stripped of the position and returned to a role as the family's lawyer.

'Consigliere' is a real world Mafia term, but it didn't really come to prominence until the publication of 'The Godfather'. Mario Puzo used the title to cover Hagen's job description as Corleone's counsellor and a general go-between.

Concierge is a term used for a staff member who assists guests or residents of hotels or apartment blocks; the Camerlengo is an administrator who assists the Pope; and the Carabinieri is the Italian national military police force.

Answer: Felix Holt, the Radical

'Felix Holt, the Radical' became Eliot's fifth published novel when it appeared in 1866. It also marked her return to writing the novels about the social state of English society for which she is best remembered (her previous novel 'Romola' was a historical story set in 15th century Italy).

'Felix Holt, the Radical' is set in 1832, the year in which the Great Reform Act, that extended the franchise and abolished many 'rotten boroughs', was passed. Matthew Jermyn is introduced as the lawyer of the Transome family, who becomes Harold Transome's election agent and supports him in his bid to be elected to parliament as a 'Radical'. However, he ends up having to do some fast talking to avoid being prosecuted for mismanaging the family estate and even more when it is revealed that he is actually Transome's father!

'Adam Bede', 'Silas Marner' and 'Daniel Deronda' are all other novels written by George Eliot.

Answer: Inherit the Wind

The Scopes "Monkey" Trial (or The State of Tennessee versus John Thomas Scopes) revolved around the prosecution of a school teacher, John Scopes, for teaching his students about Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution, in contravention of the state's Butler Act. In the play, 'Inherit the Wind', a teacher named Bertram Cates is on trial for teaching evolution - Henry Drummond is his defence attorney, while Matthew Harrison Brady appears for the prosecution. The character of Drummond represents Clarence Darrow, Scopes' defence attorney, one of America's most famous lawyers, while the character of Brady represents William Jennings Bryan, a lawyer and politician who was the Democrat candidate for US President three times.

The outcome of the case in 'Inherit the Wind' was that Cates was found guilty, but fined just $100 as a token punishment; this mirrors the real-life Scopes case where Scopes was also found guilty and fined $100.

The play was made into a Hollywood movie in 1960 with Frederic March playing Brady and Spencer Tracy depicting Drummond - a role which earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. The incorrect options are all other films for which Spencer Tracy received a Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards.

Answer: The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' is believed to have been written in the late 14th century and was written in Middle English. The work is a collection of short stories pulled together by the idea that each story was told by a member of a group of pilgrims travelling from the Tabard Inn in Southwark, London to the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Sadly no original copies have survived into the 21st century, so the exact number and order of the tales is not known for certain.

The Man of Law, otherwise known as the Sergeant at Law or the Lawyer, is described by Chaucer as a wise judge, able to produce flawless legal documents. The evidence for his eloquence is provided by the tale he tells of Custance, a Roman princess who is set adrift in a boat by the Sultan's mother (in order to prevent their wedding) and ends up shipwrecked on the Northumberland coast - where she subsequently marries King Alla. The story also appears in other early works of literature by Nicholas Trivet and John Gower.

'The Name of the Rose' is set in the 14th century but is actually a 1980 work by Umberto Eco; 'Piers Plowman' is a 14th century work by William Langland; and 'The Legend of Good Women' is a poem that is also by Chaucer.

Answer: Atticus Finch

No quiz on literary lawyers would be complete without mentioning Atticus Finch, the hero of Harper Lee's famous novel, 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. In the novel Finch defends a black man, Tom Robinson, against a charge of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman from the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. However, despite using all his skills to show that Mayella and her father were both liars, the jury convicts Robinson, who is later killed attempting to escape from prison. The novel focuses on the theme of racism in the southern states of the USA during the 1930s and depicts Finch as a role model for the legal profession. The novel won Harper Lee the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was adapted into an Oscar winning film in 1962.

Monroeville, Alabama is Harper Lee's hometown and provided the basis for the fictional town of Maycomb. The monument is a large plaque, mounted on a stone outside the courthouse, and is inscribed with a tribute to Atticus Finch. It quotes his eloquent plea to the jury in the Robinson case: "In the name of God, do your duty."

Answer: Portia

Antonio's trial began when he defaulted on a loan (from a cruel moneylender named Shylock) that he had taken out in order to help his friend Bassanio win the hand of the beautiful heiress, Portia. The terms of their contract meant that if he could not pay then Shylock was entitled to take a pound of Antonio's flesh in retribution. The case was brought before the court of the Duke of Venice, where Balthazar was able to successfully argue that although Shylock was entitled to Antonio's flesh, he was not entitled to Antonio's blood - and obviously he could not take one without the other.

As it turned out though, Portia had sought help from her lawyer cousin Bellario and disguised herself as a man in order to help Antonio in court. She was accompanied by her maid, Nerissa, who also disguised herself as Portia/Balthazar's clerk.

Olivia is the heroine of 'Twelfth Night'; Viola also appeared in 'Twelfth Night' and is another Shakespearean character who disguised herself as a man, although in her case she pretended to be her brother, Sebastian; and Hermione is the Queen of Sicilia in 'The Winter's Tale'.