This book recounts the life of H. L. A. Hart, the pre-eminent legal philosopher of the 20th century, and sheds light on the genesis of Hart's ideas and the scale of his contribution to legal and political philosophy. Following Hart's life from modest origins as the son of Jewish tailor parents in Yorkshire to worldwide fame as the most influential English-speaking legal theorist of the post-War era, the book traces his successive metamorphoses; from Yorkshire schoolboy to Oxford scholar, from government intelligence officer to Professor of Jurisprudence, and from awkward bachelor to family fig ... More

This book recounts the life of H. L. A. Hart, the pre-eminent legal philosopher of the 20th century, and sheds light on the genesis of Hart's ideas and the scale of his contribution to legal and political philosophy. Following Hart's life from modest origins as the son of Jewish tailor parents in Yorkshire to worldwide fame as the most influential English-speaking legal theorist of the post-War era, the book traces his successive metamorphoses; from Yorkshire schoolboy to Oxford scholar, from government intelligence officer to Professor of Jurisprudence, and from awkward bachelor to family figurehead. In the tradition of Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein, the book paints an absorbing picture of intellectual and psychological development, of a mind struggling to cope with intellectual self-doubt, uncertain sexuality, a difficult marriage, and an anti-semitic society. This raises fascinating questions about the nature of intellectual creativity. In depicting the evolution of Hart's life and mind, the book provides a vivid recreation of both the intellectual and social climate of Oxford in the post-War era, and develops an intellectual history of trends in 20th century legal, social, philosophical, and political thought.