Bloomsbury Scholars of Tort Law

The publication of Scholars of Tort Law marks the beginning of a long overdue rebalancing of private law scholarship. Instead of concentrating on judicial decisions and academic commentary only for what that commentary says about judicial decisions, the book explores the contributions of scholars of tort law in their own right. The work of a selection of leading scholars of tort law from across the common law world, ranging from Thomas Cooley (1824–1898) to Patrick Atiyah (1931–2018), is addressed by eminent current scholars in the field. The focus of the contributions is on the nature of the work produced by each of the scholars in question, important influences on their work, and the influence which that work in turn had on thinking about tort law. The process of subjecting tort law scholarship to sustained analysis provides new insights into the intellectual development of tort law and reveals the important role played by scholars in that development. By focusing on the work of influential tort scholars, the book serves to emphasise the importance of legal scholarship to the development of the common law more generally. Review This handsome, fascinating and formidably well-researched volume … should be essential reading for anyone who teaches tort law … this volume succeeds splendidly in enabling us to enter into the minds of our great predecessors in thinking about tort law. -- Nicholas J McBride, Pembroke College ― Cambridge Law Journal [The book] offers much food for thought in terms of how legal scholarship has served to shape and influence the law. -- Mark Wilde, University of Reading ― The Journal of Legal History Scholars of Tort Law is essential reading for those with a deep interest in the subject matter. -- Ken Oliphant ― European Tort Law Yearbook The book provides the reader with fascinating accounts of influential tort scholarship, with insights that both humanise the authors whose work is already familiar and demystify work that may seem too voluminous or daunting to tackle. -- Barbara McDonald, The University of Sydney Law School ― Sydney Law Review This is an important and solid collection of essays, especially for students, practitioners, and judges. -- Mary Hemmings, Thompson Rivers University ― Canadian Law Library Review This volume brings together some accounts of significant tort scholars. It is an intriguing collection in that it does what I consider to be the best form of intellectual biography, including elements of the life that contributed to the intellectual context of the scholar while focusing on the impact and structure of their work. -- Prue Vines ― University of New South Wales Law Journal This volume takes a refreshingly different approach to studying the making of tort law. Its goal is to shed new light on the development of tort law as an intellectual domain and not simply a body of rules, and to demonstrate that legal scholars played a decisive role in that development. It succeeds admirably on both fronts … Every chapter is richly researched and offers much food for thought. However, this is also a book that is greater than the sum of its parts. Its value lies not just in the information it presents about individual scholars and their contribution to the intellectual development of tort, but also in the broader themes that emerge when the chapters are read together. -- TT Arvind, University of York ― Journal of Professional Negligence About the Author James Goudkamp is Professor of the Law of Obligations at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. He is also a practising barrister at 7 King's Bench Walk Chambers, London. Donal Nolan is Professor of Private Law at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. Photo courtesy of Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.