author
Peter Burke
1811–1881
A Victorian barrister who also turned his hand to lively historical writing, he is best remembered for books on Edmund Burke and on famous naval and military trials. His work blends legal knowledge with a taste for dramatic episodes from British history.
1 Audiobook
Celebrated naval and military trials
by Peter Burke
About the author
Born in London on May 7, 1811, he was the eldest son of the genealogist John Burke and the brother of Sir Bernard Burke. He was educated at Caen in Normandy, called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1839, and built his legal career on the northern circuit before later becoming a Queen's Counsel and a serjeant-at-law.
Alongside the law, he wrote books that drew on history, politics, and public life. Among the works linked with him are studies of Edmund Burke and Celebrated Naval and Military Trials, a collection that shows his interest in courtroom drama, character, and the turning points of national history.
He died in 1881. Surviving reference sources describe him as both a successful lawyer and a writer, which fits the character of his books: practical, informed, and shaped by a legal mind.