The Mandela Brief

Sydney Kentridge carved out a reputation as South Africa's most prominent anti-apartheid advocate - his story is entwined with the country's emergence from racial injustice and oppression. He is the only lawyer to have acted for three winners of the Nobel Peace Prize - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Chief Albert Lutuli. Already world-famous for his landmark cases including the Treason Trial of Nelson Mandela and the other leading members of the ANC, the inquiry into the Sharpeville massacre, and the inquest into the death of Steve Biko, he then became England's premier advocate.

Through the great set-pieces of the legal struggle against apartheid - cases which made the headlines not just in South Africa, but across the world - this biography is a portrait of enduring moral stature.

“Praise for Thomas Grant: Thomas Grant has brought together Hutchinson's greatest legal hits, producing a fascinating episodic cultural history of post-war Britain that chronicles the end of deference and secrecy, and the advent of a more permissive society . . . Grant brings out the essence of each case, and Hutchinson's role, with clarity and wit Praise for Thomas Grant: Hutchinson provides the memories and Grant puts pen to paper. The result is a multifaceted object: a celebration of a brilliant career, an explanation of the legal process and a social and cultural history of the second half of the 20th century Praise for Thomas Grant: Excellent . . . Thomas Grant offers detailed accounts of eleven cases at the Old Bailey's Court Number One, with protagonists ranging from the diabolical to the pathetic. There is humour . . . but this is ultimately an affecting study of how the law gets it right - and wrong Praise for Thomas Grant: A hamper of treats, a series of beautifully judged vignettes . . . Grant excels himself . . . He is a master at conveying the cut-and-thrust of cross-examination, managing to maintain a sense of speed while making sure the reader does not miss the cultural or legal context. His style is drily witty, but just when you start to think he is a bit too detached from what are, after all, matters of life and death, he soars into a rhetorical flight . . . Very moving”

Well-written, deeply researched and wholly gripping -- The Spectator
Meticulously researched -- The Times
Kentridge is not only one of the finest advocates of all time, he is also one of the finest men -- Lady Hale
The barrister's barrister . . . a moral stature that no amount of moral forensic technique can impersonate -- Lord Jonathan Sumption
One of the greatest lawyers of our times - a legal titan -- Lady Helena Kennedy
A good read . . . well-researched. It can be recommended as a short introduction to the horrific nature of the ancien régime and the risks run and suffering borne by its opponents, as they emerge through the prism of the South African legal system -- Daily Telegraph
Anyone who wants a fresh understanding of how South Africa became the polecat of the international community will gain insight from Thomas Grant's gripping telling of the stellar career of Sydney Kentridge and his struggle for justice -- Rapport
In all of [Grant's] chapters, the role of fearless hugely skilled advocacy in creating a belief that the rule of law matters is luminously documented . . . Grant's description of Kentridge's cross-examination of State witnesses who were cynically employed to convict opponents of the apartheid regime should be compulsory reading -- The Daily Maverick
In November [2022], [Sydney] Kentridge will mark his 100th birthday, and Grant's in-depth research sets the scene for a celebration of a remarkable legal tactician -- Farmer's Weekly
Thomas Grant KC has performed a real service by enabling us to get a vivid sense of some of Kentridge's most important cases . . . This is a powerful, but easy, read -- New Law Journal
A forensic, riveting account of a wondrous and principled advocate -- Philippe Sands

Thomas Grant QC is a practising barrister and author. His previous books include the Sunday Times bestseller Jeremy Hutchinson's Case Histories: From Lady Chatterley's Lover to Howard Marks, and Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain, a Telegraph Book of the Year, Times Book of the Year and Waterstones Paperback of the Year. He lives in Sussex and London.

Sydney Kentridge carved out a reputation as South Africa's most prominent anti-apartheid advocate - his story is entwined with the country's emergence from racial injustice and oppression. He is the only lawyer to have acted for three winners of the Nobel Peace Prize - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Chief Albert Lutuli. Already world-famous for his landmark cases including the Treason Trial of Nelson Mandela and the other leading members of the ANC, the inquiry into the Sharpeville massacre, and the inquest into the death of Steve Biko, he then became England's premier advocate.Through the great set-pieces of the legal struggle against apartheid - cases which made the headlines not just in South Africa, but across the world - this biography is a portrait of enduring moral stature.

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