Caro Fraser Books In Order

Publication Order of Caper Court Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Caro Fraser is a British novelist born in 1953. Fraser primarily writes novels about lawyers.

+Biography

Caro Fraser was born in Carlisle, though her family moved to Glasgow soon after she came into this world. There she attended Glasgow High School for Girls. Caro’s father influenced her decision to pursue writing.

By the time she was fifteen, George MacDonald Fraser had written the first of his Flashman books. This was shortly before the family moved to the Isle of Man and Caro was forced to adapt to the Buchan School.

Caro Fraser cannot tell you when she began writing. It is a habit she simply remembers always pursuing. The fact that her parents were journalists probably had something to do with it. Because of their careers, there were always books in the house. For Caro, reading and writing stories and poems became the norm, the stuff that made her life exciting.

As far as her professional career is concerned, it wasn’t until 1992 that Caro began writing professionally. She already had a child by then. Her experience as a commercial lawyer and an advertising copywriter perfectly prepared her for the difficulties of the literary arena.

In fact, Caro only went into advertising because she presumed it would eventually drive her towards a career as a novelist; additionally, the creative process of working as an advertising copywriter sounded like a lot of fun.

Unfortunately for Caro, advertising copywriting turned out to be the worst thing for her writing ambitions. Because she spent all day writing copy, Caro had little to no strength to write fiction once she got home at the end of a hard day’s work.

It wasn’t long before Caro grew fatigued with her job; after three years in the role, she left Scotland for London, setting her sights on the law. For Caro, there were no better means of stretching her mind intellectually than becoming a lawyer. The fact that the career also provided her so much information for her books was a benefit.

The Pupil, the first book in Caro Fraser’s Caper Court Series, draws from the time she spent training to become a barrister. The novel chronicles Anthony Cross’ journey as he traverses his six-month pupillage at Caper Court, encountering all manner of characters along the way. Caro has suggested that the reason she wrote the book from the perspective of a male character was because the majority of barristers’ pupils at the time were male.

She also believes that taking a male perspective gave her the distance necessary to find a comfortable writing voice. While she is primarily known for her Caper Court books, Caro has endeavored to intersperse the series with standalone books.

For Caro, the task of writing about the same set of characters book after book has always proven too grueling for her to contend with. The standalone books allow Caro a chance to break away from the familiar environments of the Caper Court series.

Caro has described her standalone novels as romantic fiction for the thinking woman, though some readers might disagree with that description.

+The Pupil

The Pupil is Caro Fraser’s first novel. The book explores the rivalry between Anthony Cross and Edward Choke. The two men couldn’t be more different. Cross is poor but very brilliant, the sort of clever individual you cannot ignore.

Choke is thick but also very rich. Only one of these men will be awarded tenancy at the end of their pupilage.

The Pupil tries to depict real life in the legal world, laying out the conflict between the gentrified nephew of a head of chambers and the bright but poor pupil from a mixed background.

This is an easy read. A lot of the readers you talk to will probably admit to not liking the central characters of this book. You would think it easy to root for Cross, but he is too much of a wimp for some people.

But because he is faced with such wealthy but irritating young individuals for foes, Caro finds a way to push you into Cross’ corner. The author provides a lot of insight into the workings of the Chamber of law.

A considerable portion of the novel strives to explore the stark differences between Cross and Choke. Choke is living the high life, spending his nights drinking and dancing at lavish parties with his rich friends even while avoiding as much work as he possibly can.

Cross, on the other hand, must strive to survive on his meager finances; and as difficult as working his mind and body raw to acquire tenancy at Caper Court might be, fitting in with Choke’s friends proves to be an even harder task.

+Juducial Whispers

Leo Davie’s hopes of election to the position of the queen’s council are quickly dwindling. A rumor campaign to thwart his attempts at reaching that rarefied strata of the British legal hierarchy has been deployed.

Amidst the chaos unfolding in his career, Leo struggles with issues of love, sex, class, and ambition. Suggestions have arisen pushing Leo to take a wife to squash the rumors. For this reason, Leo becomes entangled with a beautiful and emotionally rigid solicitor called Rachel Dean, a lady whose affections Leo’s friend Anthony also seeks.

This sequel to Caro Fraser’s first book in the Caper Court series takes place two years later. This time, Anthony is cast aside as the protagonist in favor of Leo Davies, the enigmatic barrister introduced in the first book.

Leo is initially certain of his appointment to the position of queen’s council. However, his confidence begins to fade when rumors about his personal life emerge. Leo inadvertently draws the beautiful Rachel into the chaos of his life, this while Rachel struggles with her own dark secrets.

Most readers have described this book as a page-turner; even those individuals that aren’t particularly impressed with the plot or the progression of this story will admit that they were compelled to stick around until the very end if only to find out what happens to Leo and the characters around him.

As with Caro Fraser’s first novel, this one also delves into the intricacies of the law even while exploring class and societal expectations.