"The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself." Jarndyce and Jardyce is an infamous lawsuit that has been in process for generations. Nobody can remember exactly how the case started but many different individuals have found their fortunes caught up in it. Esther Summerson watches as her friends and neighbors are consumed by their hopes and disappointments with the proceedings. But while the intricate puzzles of the lawsuit are being debated by lawyers, other more dramatic mysteries are unfolding that involve heartbreak, lost children, blackmail, and murder. This highly critical look at the flaws of the British judiciary system contains the illustrations by Phiz that are found in the original editions.