Jonathan Sumption
Jonathan Sumption is a British judge and historian. He served as a Justice of the UK’s Supreme Court from 2012 to 2018. In the 2019 Reith Lectures he argued that the law is taking over the space once occupied by politics. Those lectures were expanded into a book, Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics. Lord Sumption has also written several books of medieval history, including four books on the Hundred Years War, the third of which, Divided Houses, won the 2009 Wolfson History Prize.
Books by Jonathan Sumption
The Hundred Years War IV: Cursed Kings
by Jonathan Sumption
The fourth volume of Jonathan Sumption's history of the hundred years war covers the early 15th century, with Henry V of England ruthlessly exploiting France's internal political weaknesses to claim the throne of France for his heirs.
The Hundred Years War III: Divided Houses
by Jonathan Sumption
The third volume of Jonathan Sumption's history of the hundred years war covers the collapse of English (and the recovery of French) fortunes in the last decades of the 14th century, with the death of Edward III and his succession by the unstable boy-king, Richard II.
The Hundred Years War II: Trial by Fire
by Jonathan Sumption
The second volume of Jonathan Sumption's history of the hundred years war. This volumes covers the triumphs of the English under Edward III and the virtual collapse of the French central authority.
The Hundred Years War I: Trial by Battle
by Jonathan Sumption
The first volume of Jonathan Sumption's four volume history of the hundred years war. This takes the story from the outbreak of the war through the early years of Edward III's reign, up to the capture of Calais in 1347.
The Age of Pilgrimage: The Medieval Journey to God
by Jonathan Sumption
Jonathan Sumption tells the story of pilgrimages from the birth of Christianity to the 15th century and explains why pilgrimages were so popular in the middle ages.
Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics
by Jonathan Sumption
Based on his 2019 BBC Reith Lectures, Jonathan Sumption warns against judicial overreach and argues that some things are best left to politicians, not judges.
Interviews with Jonathan Sumption
The best books on The Rule of Law, recommended by Jonathan Sumption
What is the relationship between law and human society? Does the rule of law entail certain rights? What are the justifications for legal constraints on human conduct? Jonathan Sumption, a former Justice of the UK’s Supreme Court, discusses these and other issues related to the rule of law.
