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Quiller has acquired A Drink at the Bar, the “witty, opinionated and revealing” memoirs of Judge Graham Boal QC.
Boal was a criminal barrister for 30 years before serving as a judge for nine years until his retirement as a permanent judge at London’s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, in 2005.
Out on in April 2021, A Drink at the Bar: A memoir of crime, justice and overcoming personal demons sees him recall a career that included being George Carman's junior in the Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe's trial for conspiracy to murder in 1979 and leading for the Crown at the appeal of the Birmingham Six in 1991.
Quiller said: “His memories of key cases in his career are fascinating but his day-to-day experiences, and the underlying legal issues and happenstance, are every bit as revealing and interesting. Boal has been described as ‘clubbable’, a man who enjoys cricket, golf and life in a Norfolk village, but as his brilliant career progressed he found himself increasingly dependent on the demon alcohol. He went into treatment for alcoholism and depression in 1993, and has been a recovering alcoholic ever since, including his years as a judge at the Old Bailey, the court at which most of the most serious criminal cases in the country are tried.”
Quiller m.d. Andrew Johnston, who acquired world rights from the author, said: “I am delighted to secure this fascinating no-holds-barred memoir which not only relates the extraordinary career of one of the UK’s most respected advocates and judges but which also forensically examines the effect of alcoholism and depression on one’s personal and professional life.”