Outlaws and Spies : Legal Exclusion in Law and Literature

## Examines the role of literature in representing and critiquing the exclusion from law as an enduring tactic of state power * Reads outlaw literature and espionage literature together * Shows how these genres represent and critique the longstanding use of legal exclusion as a means of supporting state power * Discusses texts ranging from the medieval Robin Hood ballads, Shakespeare’s history plays and versions of the Ned Kelly story to contemporary writing by John le Carré, Don DeLillo, Ciaran Carson and William Gibson Outlaws are often viewed as historical figures of popular resistance, but there is another side to legal exclusion. In offering readings from two bodies of literature not normally read together – the literature of outlawry and the literature of espionage – this book shows that a substantial body of writing within these genres serves an important purpose in representing and critiquing the longstanding use of legal exclusion as a means of supporting state power. By reading two bodies of literature not normally read together - the outlaw literature and espionage literature - Conor McCarthy shows how these genres represent and critique the longstanding use of legal exclusion as a means of supporting state power. Texts discussed range from the medieval Robin Hood ballads, Shakespeare's history plays, and versions of the Ned Kelly story to contemporary writing by John le Carre, Don DeLillo, Ciaran Carson and William Gibson. Acknowledgements Introduction Outside the Law in the Middle Ages Sovereign Outlaws: Shakespeare’s Second Tetralogy The Endurance of Exclusion: Versions of Ned Kelly ‘We’re not policemen’: Espionage and Law in John le Carré ‘All plots tend to move deathward’: Plots and Consequences in Don DeLillo Unanswered Questions: Ciaran Carson Contesting the Virtual: William Gibson Conclusion Bibliography Index Conor McCarthy shows how outlaw literature and espionage literature critique the use of legal exclusion as a means of supporting state power. Texts discussed range from the medieval Robin Hood ballads, Shakespeare's history plays and the Ned Kelly story to John le Carré, Don DeLillo, Ciaran Carson and William Gibson. Conor McCarthy shows how outlaw literature and espionage literature critique the use of legal exclusion as a means of supporting state power. Texts discussed range from the medieval Robin Hood ballads, Shakespeare's history plays and the Ned Kelly story to John le Carre, Don DeLillo, Ciaran Carson and William Gibson.