Spider Woman (memoir)

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Spider Woman
Author Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
LanguageEnglish
Genre Memoir
Publisher The Bodley Head
Publication date
7 October 2021
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages288
ISBN 9781847926593

Spider Woman: A Life is a memoir by the former President of the Supreme Court, Brenda Hale. It was published on 7 October 2021 by The Bodley Head, a subdivision of Random House. [1]

Contents

Contents

The first part of the book details childhood in North Yorkshire and studies at Cambridge in the 1960s. [1] [2] The first part also explains Hale's interest in feminism, and describes her time as a lawyer and legal academic relating significant legal issues during this time to her views relating to feminism. [2] [3]

The second part of the book describes her time at the Law Commission, where she was the first woman and youngest ever person at the time to be appointed, as well as her time at the Court of Appeal and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and finally her time at the Supreme Court. [2]

In the book, she describes suggestions for reforms to the judiciary for improving diversity such as removing requirements to wear wigs as well as more fundamental reforms. [3]

Reception

Spider Woman received positive reviews from critics.

A review in TheNew European described it as a "lucid" and "human". [4] The Times reviewed the book very positively describing Hale's writing as "humane", "fearless" and "clever". [5] Rachel Cunliffe reviewed Spider Woman very positively in the New Statesman , calling Hale an "unlikely people’s champion". [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Cooke, Rachel (3 October 2021). "Spider Woman by Lady Hale review – a tangled web she weaves". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Clapham, Nick (1 November 2021). "A true pioneer 'equal to everything'". Law Society Gazette. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 Gapper, John (15 October 2021). "Brenda Hale: 'People need to believe justice is there for them'". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Beckett, Francis (12 January 2022). "The Spider Woman bites back". The New European . Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  5. ↑ Reid, Melanie (2 October 2021). "Spider Woman by Lady Hale review — all rise: the Beyoncé of the legal world". The Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  6. ↑ Cunliffe, Rachel (13 October 2021). ""I didn't set out to be any kind of icon": Brenda Hale on becoming an anti-Brexit hero". The New Statesman. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
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