The Mandela Brief

Well-written, deeply researched and wholly gripping – The Spectator
Meticulously researched – The Times
Kentridge is not only one of the finest advocates of all time, he is also one of the finest men – Lady Hale
The barrister’s barrister … a moral stature that no amount of moral forensic technique can impersonate – Lord Jonathan Sumption
One of the greatest lawyers of our times - a legal titan – Lady Helena Kennedy
A good read … well-researched. It can be recommended as a short introduction to the horrific nature of the ancien régime and the risks run and suffering borne by its opponents, as they emerge through the prism of the South African legal system – Daily Telegraph
Anyone who wants a fresh understanding of how South Africa became the polecat of the international community will gain insight from Thomas Grant’s gripping telling of the stellar career of Sydney Kentridge and his struggle for justice – Rapport
In all of [Grant’s] chapters, the role of fearless hugely skilled advocacy in creating a belief that the rule of law matters is luminously documented … Grant’s description of Kentridge’s cross-examination of State witnesses who were cynically employed to convict opponents of the apartheid regime should be compulsory reading – The Daily Maverick
In November [2022], [Sydney] Kentridge will mark his 100th birthday, and Grant’s in-depth research sets the scene for a celebration of a remarkable legal tactician – Farmer’s Weekly
Thomas Grant KC has performed a real service by enabling us to get a vivid sense of some of Kentridge’s most important cases … This is a powerful, but easy, read – New Law Journal
A forensic, riveting account of a wondrous and principled advocate – Philippe Sands

Thomas Grant QC is a practising barrister and author. His previous books include the Sunday Times bestseller Jeremy Hutchinson’s Case Histories: From Lady Chatterley’s Lover to Howard Marks, and Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain, a Telegraph Book of the Year, Times Book of the Year and Waterstones Paperback of the Year. He lives in Sussex and London.

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