‘Book Review of Alan Brown: What is the Family of Law? The  Influence of the Nuclear Family’

What is the Family of Law? The Influence of the Nuclear Family by Dr Alan Brown, University of Glasgow, was published by Hart Publishing in 2019. At its core, the book presents a theoretical analysis of the definition and construction of ‘family’. In particular, it explores the continuing normative importance of the traditional nuclear family in the legal regulation of conjugal relationships and parent/child relationships in England and Scotland. The book also examines the possibilities offered by alternative models of ‘family’ before arguing for a radical re-imagining of the underlying approach to the legal understanding of the term.