Prima Facie by Suzie Miller

This is not life. This is law.

Tessa Ensler is a brilliant barrister who’s forged her career in criminal defence through sheer determination. Since her days at Cambridge, she’s carefully disguised her working-class roots in a male-dominated world where who you know is just as important as what you know. Driven by her belief in the right to a fair trial and a taste for victory, there’s nothing Tessa loves more than the thrill of getting her clients acquitted.

It seems like Tessa has it made when she is approached for a new job and nominated for the most prestigious award in her field. But when a date with a charismatic colleague goes horribly wrong, Tessa finds that the rules she’s always played by might not protect her, forcing her to question everything she’s ever believed in…

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Prima Facie is one of the novels I picked up at this year’s Hay Festival having thoroughly enjoyed Suzie Miller’s talk about it.  Based upon her one-woman play of the same name, I wasn’t aware of it beforehand and I hope that adapting it into a novel brings it to the attention of a wider audience as it has a lot to say about how the legal system handles cases of sexual assault.  And to be really clear, the main protagonist, Tessa Ensler, is the victim of a sexual assault which may be triggering for some readers. 

Tessa is a fantastic character.  She’s fought her way to the top of her profession from what would be considered by some – even today – to be a working-class background, obtaining excellent grades at school and earning a scholarship at Cambridge.  Feeling the need to blend in with those around her, I think that there’s a bittersweet element as she feels the need to mask her accent so as not to reveal her roots although she sees this as a small price to pay.  Having achieved her ambition of working as a barrister in London, she’s rightly proud of what she’s accomplished even if she occasionally has to remind herself that she has earned her position and deserves it as much as anyone around her, and more so than those colleagues who’ve obtained their positions through their family connections as much as their academic achievements. 

What happens to Tessa is, needless to say, awful.  There’s a steady build up as we see the mutual attraction between her and her colleague, the two eventually going on a date.  He’s attractive, charismatic, and popular and Tessa is excited about the possibilities, even contemplating the possibility of a longer-term relationship.  After dinner and drinks, what should be a fun and intimate moment quickly turns sour, leaving Tessa changed forever.  It’s awful to see this confident and successful woman brought so low, particularly as he remains unchanged by the event. 

Tessa chooses to report his crime and to take it to court, despite being aware of the statistics relating to successful prosecutions in cases that are taken to be her word against his. That she chooses to go ahead despite those statistics is incredibly brave. What’s particularly heartbreaking is that Tessa, as a barrister who has acted as the defence in similar cases, knows exactly how both the prosecution and the defence will choose to portray this ordeal in court, but who experiences for the first time what it’s like to be the one facing the barrage of questions as she tries to convey what happened while his defence barrister seeks to confuse her and trip her up.  It’s an eye-opening moment for Tessa as she finds the law that she has put her faith in and that she trusts to be on her side when she needs it may be flawed.

Miller, herself a trained barrister as well as a playwright and author, takes the reader through the law and what it means to act in defence of those accused of crimes.  I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering how barristers can act of behalf of some individuals, although Miller makes the point that everyone deserves to have their story heard.  It also highlights the difficulty in cases that do come down to the conflicting statements of two individuals, and one element that I loved about Miller’s talk at Hay was hearing about the impact that her play, and hopefully now her novel, has had.  Miller spoke about those working in legal professions – judges, barristers, police officers – who’ve seen the play and who’ve changed their approach as a result. Small steps, perhaps, but a move in the right direction. 

Prima Facie is a difficult read in parts for obvious reasons, but it’s a novel that handles this difficult subject matter brilliantly while highlighting the limitations of the law when a victim is brave enough to speak up about their ordeal and to push for conviction against their assailant.  Recommended.

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Book 4 of 15 Books of Summer.