The Law and the Poor

Parry, Edward Abbott. The Law and the Poor. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1914. xxi, 316 pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-354-5. Cloth $70. * Reprint of first edition. Parry [1863-1953] was an English municipal judge for over twenty years. His book, a guide for "the man in the street," which began as a series of newspaper articles, outlines the laws concerning insolvency, debt and poverty. It is distinguished by its emphasis on cultural attitudes toward the poor, and its readability and humanity. Parry's was among the strong voices to speak in sympathy to the poor in response to the Poor Law Amendment Act which had been enacted in 1834. "Judge Parry is particularly gifted with that rare imagination which enables him to see mortal men and women where others see cases, litigants, and parties before the courts. Hence his volume is a rare document, especially useful as a corrective to the tendency to lose sight of actual living conditions in the logical pursuit of abstract legal doctrines." Cohen, Law and Social Order cited in Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University (1953) 810.