Law books in the modern Western world

nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Serge Dauchy

Georges Martyn

Anthony Musson

Alain Wijffels

pp. 319-476

in: Serge Dauchy, Georges Martyn, Anthony Musson, Alain Wijffels (eds), The formation and transmission of Western legal culture, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

53 books, published between 1801 and 1950, illustrate the evolution of legal science in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. The industrial revolution improved manufacturing methods and distribution dramatically. Some legal works became veritable bestsellers, running to various editions, and very often several translations, inspiring revolutionaries and legislators. Evolving National States and codifications had a major impact on legal doctrine. Different 'schools", like the German Historical School or the American Realist School, took very different views on the role of law and legal construction.