Making of the Modern Law of Defamation

Paul Mitchell is a Senior Lecturer in Law at King's College London.

• PART I: THE CLAIMANT’S LOSS1 LIBEL AND SLANDER2 INTERPRETATION3 DAMAGES4 INJUNCTIONSPART II: THE DEFENDANT’S WRONG5 FAULT IN ORDINARY LIABILITY6 SECOND PUBLISHERS7 QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE8 FAIR COMMENT9 ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE10 REPORTS11 CONCLUSION

The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation is an excellent piece of work and a welcome addition to the literature dealing with the history of defamation law. It is a scholarly, yet highly readable, monograph...The book is characterised by painstaking research, erudite analysis and a clarity of expression and structure that makes it a joy to read...this book is thoroughly researched, beautifully written and contains a wealth of material to delight the defamation aficionado. It is worthy of a place on any defamation bookshelf. Michael Gillooly Torts Law Journal No 3 The most striking features of this book are its conciseness and preciseness...a rich source of references to many important and some less widely known academic works on the history of defamation law Marie McGonagle The Irish Jurist, Vol XL 2005 ...a very well-written and interesting book. It deserves to be read as a whole, and there are thought-provoking arguments throughout...For the tort of defamation, there can be no excuses for such historical ignorance, with the advent of Paul Mitchell's fine book. Every serious student of the law of torts should read it. Jonathan Morgan The Law Quarterly Review, Vol 122 Oct 06 ...provides considerable food for thought as to the appropriate classification of the law of defamation...this is an excellent book that anyone interested in the modern law of defamation should read. Mark Lunney The King's College Law Journal, Vol 17, Issue 1 2006 ...a fascinating account...the case reports he considers provide a wealth of historical curiosity...a succinct and useful study of one of the most venerable parts of the common law. The scope of the book is considerable...valuable to both practitioners and academics who seek a deeper understanding... John Townsend Common Law World Review Spring 2006 As the complexity of defamation law grows, the space devoted in most textbooks to an analysis of its historical origins has been shrinking. It is a welcome relief, therefore, to a see a book devoted to just such an analysis...this is an eminently readable book. The Commonwealth Lawyer, Vol 14, No 3 Dec 05 [Mitchell] demonstrates convincingly how the law lost the internal coherence it possessed in the early 1800's, and does an excellent job of explaining its current oddities and anomalies... J. Townsend European Tort Law 2005 (Tort and Insurance Law Yearbook) 2006