Jeremy Hutchinson and the Lady Chatterley's Lover trial
7 July 2015
Jeremy Hutchinson is renowned as one of the greatest criminal barristers of his generation. Throughout a long career, his reputation as a defender of civil liberties and stylish advocacy achieved success in cases that looked unwinnable. This year he celebrated his 100th birthday with the release of a new book - Jeremy Hutchinson’s Case Histories, written by Thomas Grant. He and Grant were joined recently by Helena Kennedy QC at the Charleston Book Festival, where he revealed the key moments in the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial.
Jeremy Hutchinson on Lady Chatterley's Lover at the Charleston Festival
The barrister discusses the 1960 obscenity trial with Helena Kennedy and Thomas Grant.
Jeremy Hutchinson became a thorn in the side of the establishment and was a key figure in some of the landmark cases of the 20th century.
He spent years in courtroom battles on questions of censorship and freedom, famously defending Penguin Books in the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial and preventing the suppression of the film Last Tango in Paris in 1972, and the play Romans in Britain in 1982.
The celebrated British QC formed a pivotal part of the defence team on the Lady Chatterley case in 1960 - a key moment in both British legal and literary history.
The Obscene Publications Act had been introduced in 1959 and DH Lawrence's infamous novel was the first book to be the subject of litigation under the new obscenity laws.
The successful acquittal of Penguin was seen as a watershed moment and a triumph for literary freedom in Britain.
Other notable clients included Christine Keeler, the spy George Blake, Great Train robber Charlie Wilson, art ‘faker’ Tom Keating and Howard Marks.
Sir John Mortimer’s memorable character Rumpole of the Bailey was modelled on the style of Hutchinson - particularly his habit of calling judges "old darling".
Thomas Grant QC collaborated with Jeremy Hutchinson to recount some of the colourful cases in his long legal career in his new book, Jeremy Hutchinson’s Case Histories.
The above film is an extract from a session during the Charleston Festival in East Sussex, May 2015.
First copies of Lady Chatterley's Lover go on sale, 1960
After receiving nationwide coverage during the lengthy obscenity trial, a brisk demand for DH Lawrence's book was reported on 10 November 1960.
Excerpt from The Trial of Lady Chatterley, 1980
In this documentary broadcast 20 years after the trial, academic Richard Hoggart, former Penguin editor Dieter Pevsner and Jeremy Hutchinson QC talk about the significance of the case.
