Throughout the British colonies in the nineteenth century, judges were expected not only to administer law and justice, but also to play a significant role within the governance of their jurisdictions. British authorities were consequently concerned about judges' loyalty to the Crown, and on occasion removed or suspended those who were found politically subversive or personally difficult. Even reasonable and well balanced judges were sometimes threatened with removal.

Using the career histories of judges who challenged the system, Dewigged, Bothered, and Bewildered illuminates issues of judicial tenure, accountability, and independence throughout the British Empire. John McLaren closely examines cases of judges across a wide geographic spectrum — from Australia to the Caribbean, and from Canada to Sierra Leone — who faced disciplinary action. These riveting stories provide helpful insights into the tenuous position of the colonial judiciary and the precarious state of politics in a variety of British colonies.

John McLaren is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria.

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‘This book is a colourful comparative study of the contested boundaries between law and politics in the British Empire …The sheer number of characters and colonies McLaren has researched here gives unprecedented empirical breadth to his history. Underneath McLaren’s detailed biographies lies a new history of the British Empire written on an archival scale.’

Victorian Studies, Spring 2014

‘McLaren’s book provides a rigorous and fascinating account of how the Colonial Office exercised its disciplinary authority over colonial judges… McLaren’s empire-wide comparative approach allows us to observe imperial political, legal, and social networks in play.’

Journal of Law and Society vol 39:04:2012

‘McLaren is to be congratulated for coherently tying together the experience of a dozen colonies over a full century… the author has done a good job showing how the quirks and oddities of these individual judicial characters have the potential to reveal a great deal about the inner workings of the imperial project.’

Canadian Historical Review, vol 94:01:2013

‘McLaren’s work is a wonderful contribution to English legal history that will be of great value to both legal scholars and more general students of the British Empire.’

The Historian; vol 75:02:2013