Edward Kane, Advocate, makes his bow

Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane

 

AN Advocate from the 19^th Century has hit the headlines, and will continue to rack up column inches until Christmas.

Edward Kane is the central character of a historical novella written by Ross Macfarlane, QC, and serialised in The Scotsman from 5 to 24 December.

Kane defends an elderly nobleman on a charge of attempted murder in Edward Kane and The Matter of Honour.

“Anybody familiar with Edinburgh and Parliament House will recognise the surroundings, even today,” said the author.

“The interesting thing is that, when you look at trial records of the mid 1800s, you see that the court procedures and personnel were virtually the same then as they are today, except they had three judges sitting - and a guilty verdict was often followed by the death penalty being imposed.  The pressure on defence counsel in those days must have been extraordinary.”