A Drink at the Bar

"Great success can often find itself the marching companion of personal torment... this fantastically told story is one full of colour and optimism."  Sir Charles Walker KBE MP

"A brilliant combination of the professional and the personal. Wit and wisdom in equal measure."  Patricia Hewitt, former Secretary of State for Health 

"Author Graham Boal's excellent descriptions of how the entire criminal justice system works and his personal involvement in many of the high-profile cases of the time are an instructive and riveting read, whilst his breathtakingly honest, often funny, self-deprecating and disarmingly humble accounts of how he confronted his demons are at times deeply moving." Charlie Mortimer, author of Dear Lupin

"As Graham himself acknowledges, lawyers' and judges' memoirs have a habit of being either dull or self-serving or both, and pompous to boot. This is none of those things."  Alastair Campbell, journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster

"This is a remarkable story of two lives: the successful professional barrister and the private life consumed by alcohol." Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Director, Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research and Chairman, Alcohol Health Alliance UK

This is the witty and revealing memoir of Graham Boal QC, a criminal barrister for thirty years before serving as a Judge for nine, up until his retirement in 2005.

Boal's career highlights included his being the legendary George Carman's junior in the Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe's trial for conspiracy to murder in 1979, leading for the Crown at the Appeal of the Birmingham Six in 1991 and being appointed First Senior Treasury Counsel. His memories of key cases in his career are fascinating, but his day-to-day experiences are every bit as revealing and interesting.

However, as his brilliant career progressed, he found himself increasingly dependent on alcohol. Going into treatment for alcoholism and depression in 1993, he's been a recovering alcoholic ever since, even during his years as a judge at the Old Bailey, the court at which most of the most serious criminal cases in the country are tried.

This intriguing memoir reveals the many inside stories of classic criminal cases, and the author is unstinting in his analysis of his professional achievements and personal struggles. This will be an essential read for all those interested in legal and political issues, especially the toll that the pressures of high office can have on one’s personal life and wellbeing.