The Oxford Edition of Blackstone's – serie

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Book I: Of the Rights of Persons covers the key topics of constitutional and public law. Blackstone's inaugural lecture 'On the Study of the Law' introduces a series of general essays on the nature of law, including a chapter on 'The Absolute Rights of Individuals' . This is followed by an extended account of England's political constitution. The various categories of people or subjects are then surveyed, with special attention to the rights and obligations of masters and servants, husbands and wives, parents and children, and lastly 'artificial persons', or corporations. In addition to David Lemmings' introduction to the volume, Book I includes an introduction from the General Editor Wilfrid Prest.

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Property law is the subject of Book II, the second and longest volume of Blackstone's Commentaries. His lucid exposition covers feudalism and its history, real estate and the forms of tenure that a land-owner may have, and personal property, including the new kinds of intangible property that were developing in Blackstone's era, such as negotiable instruments and intellectual property.

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Entitled Of Private Wrongs, Book III can be divided into three principal parts. The first describes the multiple courts in England and their jurisdictions, including the wrongs cognizable in each of them. The second describes some aspects of the substantive common law: wrongs to persons and to personal and real property. The third describes the processes of litigation in the courts of common law and equity.

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. In the final volume of the Commentaries Blackstone presents a comprehensive and critical overview of English criminal law and procedure, prefaced by a discussion of the philosophical and basis of the criminal justice system. His final chapter 'On the Rise, Progress, and Gradual Improvements, of the Laws of England' provides a fitting historical conclusion to the work as a whole.