In Black and White: A Young Barrister's Story of Race and Class - Alexandra Wilson - Non Fiction - Paperback

Details
Condition: Brand New
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781913068318
Publisher: Endeavour (Octopus Publishing Group)

Overview
In Black and White is Alexandra Wilson's searing, first-person account of life as a young mixed-race barrister navigating a justice system riddled with racial and class bias. Sparked by the murder of a close family friend when Wilson was a teenager, this memoir moves from tense courtrooms to heartbreaking client meetings, exposing prejudice at every level. Praised by The Secret Barrister, it is essential reading for anyone interested in law, race, and social justice in modern Britain.

About the Book
Alexandra Wilson was still a teenager when her close family friend Ayo was fatally stabbed on his way home from football. That tragedy set her on an unlikely path from a working-class upbringing in Essex to the wig and gown of the English Bar. In Black and White traces her journey through pupillage and into practice as a junior criminal and family law barrister, offering an unflinching portrait of a profession still shaped by privilege. Wilson recounts being repeatedly mistaken for a defendant rather than the barrister representing them, and watching young Black clients caught in county lines exploitation face harsher outcomes than their circumstances warranted. Her prose is clear-eyed and compelling, blending courtroom drama with sharp social commentary. This edition features new content, including an afterword and reading group questions, ideal for book clubs and individual readers alike. Whether you work in law, study criminal justice, or simply want to understand how race and class shape who gets a fair hearing, this memoir offers rare insider testimony from someone determined to change the system from within.

Key Benefits

• First-hand courtroom insight from a practising young barrister
• Unflinching exploration of race, class and institutional bias in the justice system
• New paperback edition includes an afterword and reading group questions
• Ideal for law students, educators, book clubs and social justice readers
• Praised by The Secret Barrister and widely reviewed in national press
• Compelling memoir style that reads like courtroom drama

About the Author
Alexandra Wilson is a barrister specialising in criminal and family law, practising at Five St Andrew's Hill in London. She grew up in Essex as the eldest of four children, with a White British mother and Black British father whose parents arrived as part of the Windrush generation. Wilson studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, where she researched the impact of US police shootings on young people's attitudes to policing, before completing her GDL and LLM at BPP University. She was awarded the Middle Temple's inaugural Queen's Scholarship recognising exceptional promise at the Bar and is the founder of Black Women in Law.

Why You'll Love This Memoir
Honest, urgent and beautifully told, In Black and White gives readers a rare window into Britain's justice system through the eyes of someone determined to change it. A powerful gift for anyone who cares about fairness, law or social change.

Please Note: Cover design may vary slightly depending on print run; this listing reflects the current UK paperback edition with ISBN 9781913068318.