The Heiress versus the Establishment: Mrs. Campbell's Campaign for Legal Justice
2004
Published for the Osgoode Society by University of British Columbia Press
Cost: $38.50
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Return to 2004-2008 book list
Description
In 1940 Elizabeth Campbell published a remarkable book Where Angels Fear to Tread telling the story of her
determined battle against much of Ontario's legal establishment as she endeavoured to prove that her uncle,
a long-time bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, had stolen funds from her mother's estate.
Her struggle carried her in 1930 all the way to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England where
Mrs. Campbell argued her own case and won an astounding victory.
Mrs. Campbell's book is reprinted in its entirety together with an extensive introduction, epilogue, and
research notes that illuminate the context for Campbell's story.
Reviews
'The Backhouses' introduction and epilogue lucidly explain the niceties of the litigation.
They do an even better job of providing a historical backdrop
...
Mrs. Campbell was a gifted writer.
She describes the long arc of her trial tribulations wittily and with a keen eye for details of dress, habit,
physiognomy, and even architecture.' Douglas Johnston, The Beaver, Oct - Nov 2004
The study of Canadian history, often the butt of jokes about snooze buttons, does manage to come alive on occasion, especially when the Backhouse name is connected with it.... A reprint of a remarkable historical document that charges some of the most powerful figures in Canadian legal history with unsavoury behaviour....That the Backhouses have done such an elegant job of recreating the context and reprinting the story is, in the strongest sense, a true act of justice. Matthew Behrens, Quill and Quire, June 16, 2004
I would highly recommend this excellent book for anyone concerned with professional monopolies, self-regulation, and elitism in the legal profession and the judiciary. These three authors provide insightful commentary on all of these contemporary issues. Joan Brockman, Labour/Le Travail, vol 58, 2006
