Politics and Profession: Sir Dudley Ryder and the Office of Attorney General in England, 1689-1760

Abstract

This chapter outlines the development of the office of attorney general up to and beyond 1688, surveying both the nature of the post and those who filled it under the last Stuart monarchs and the first two Hanoverian kings. We then turn to the working life of Sir Dudley Ryder, attorney general from 1737 to 1754, as documented in his unique autobiographical writings. A brief conclusion attempts some comparison between the English original and its Australian offspring.