Lady Hale

The first female president of the Supreme Court, who retired earlier this year, has signed a deal with Bodley Head, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for two books.

The first is a memoir, to be published in 2021 and the second is an exploration of law’s importance.

She said: “Mine is not a rags to riches story – either at the beginning or at the end.” Instead, she said, it was the story of how that little girl from North Yorkshire “found that she could cope. And it shows how other women and people from similarly small beginnings, without any connections or obvious advantages in the law, will find that they can cope too.”

The second book will explore how the law is “there for government … no one at all is above the law”.

Stuart Williams, who acquired the two books for Bodley Head, said Lady Hale had been “an inspirational figure to many people for years – for her achievements in the law, for the causes she has championed, and for her passionate views on access to the law as a profession”.

“Of course, her historic and dramatic role in determining that parliament had not been prorogued gave her an even greater national prominence,” he added.

“I expect her books to be direct, warm, arresting and candid, and to introduce readers to a great mind and a great campaigner.”