Having spent a total of 7 years in 12 UK prisons (and 6 in the USA), I encountered so many people from all walks of life who found themselves in custody. What they all generally had in common was a desire to seek betterment – redemption – for even the repeat offenders never hoped to see the inside of another jail again. It can be a soul-destroying, depressing place, often ruthless, but also serves as a forge to draw out the perseverance and will to keep going. After leaving prison, I went on to set up a social enterprise, received a commendation from then Prince Charles, and support the daily operations of a charity (Arkbound).
I wrote
Just Time: A Journey Through Britain's Fractured Justice System
A true classic with themes as equally relevant today as they were over 150 years ago.
I first read it when in HMP Dorchester, a Victorian-era prison that is now closed. Told from the perspective of a student who unintentionally becomes a murderer, it compels the reader to think deeply about how the routes into crime can be many and varied, along with the nature of power.
Whilst very little of the book covers time spent in custody, before the end it shows the main criminal protagonist, Raskalnikov, as achieving a level of redemption. The book also discusses elements of criminology theory, which are still pored over by real university students.
Hailed by Washington Post Book World as “the best [translation] currently available" when it was first published, this second edition has been updated in honor of the 200th anniversary of Dostoevsky’s birth.
With the same suppleness, energy, and range of voices that won their translation of The Brothers Karamazov the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Prize, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky offer a brilliant translation of Dostoevsky's astounding pyschological thriller, newly revised for his bicentenniel.
When Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in the St. Petersburg of the tsars, commits an act of murder and theft, he sets into motion a story that is…
It’s sometimes quite tricky to find a collection of short works that seamlessly cover the same topic and advance it in different ways, showing various perspectives.
In this book, there are twenty different contributors – all with direct experience of being in prison or on probation – and each piece explores what ‘hope’ really means. Such a powerful and important word, yet different for everyone; nonetheless pushing us all onwards when times are darkest.
Without hope, there is really no redemption, for it requires the ability to look ahead and see something or someone better. Seeing creative work from many different people in prison writing about such an important subject felt very rewarding, and the fact that all contributors also won a prize as part of a national writing competition bolstered the book’s impact.
Stories, poems and articles of hope by people in custody and on probation, edited by the Arkbound Foundation.
Prison. It is a word that conjures up loss, bleakness and despair. A place where those who have broken the law are kept, both for punishment and for the safety of society. But behind these images are human stories, accounts of tragic mistakes and broken lives, woven in-between with hope. For those inside prison, it is hope that often keeps them going: for the future, for those they care for, and for the chance to start afresh upon release.
Another classic, and quite possibly my favorite. It has been dramatised many times, though nothing beats the full novel.
Admittedly with a slow-paced start, the narrative soon grips you with the intensity of its plot and unforgettable characters – most prominent, of course, being the protagonist (Jean Valjean). After serving a long sentence, he then must contend with the prospect of a lifetime of prejudice and discrimination by being an ex-con, but he escapes this and, with the help of a kind bishop, sets himself up under a different name.
Here he transforms into Monseiur Madeleine, a philanthropic businessman who later becomes mayor, before being hunted down by the stern and relentless Javert. If I could name any literary ‘role model’, it would be Jean Valjean.
This dramatic tale has redemption at its very heart, resonating deeply with me, and what makes it even more fascinating is the fact it’s partly based on a true story. The themes are strikingly relevant today as they were when written.
This is a brilliant new translation by Christine Donougher of Victor Hugo's thrilling masterpiece, with an introduction by Robert Tombs. The Wretched ( Les Miserables) is the basis for both the longest running musical on the West End and the highly-acclaimed recent film starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, and by the relentless investigations of…
The book is a sequel to one more famous, Papillon, and explores how the title character (which means ‘Butterfly’ in French) lived his life in South America following his escape from prison.
Aside from the adventurous aspects that kept me entertained whilst in prison myself (HMP Gloucester, another Victorian-era jail that later closed down), Banco demonstrates how a person can have a life, and make a positive difference, after jail.
It has one of my most loved passages in any book: “A man is never lost. Whatever he may have done, there’s always a moment in his life when he has a chance of retrieving himself and becoming a good and useful member of the community.”
'Banco' continues the adventures of Henri Charriere - nicknamed Papillon - in Venezuela, where he has finally won his freedom after thirteen years of escape and imprisonment. Despite his resolve to become an honest man, Charriere is soon involved in hair-raiding exploits with goldminers, gamblers, bank-robbers and revolutionaries - robbing and being robbed, his lust for life as strong as ever. He also runs night clubs in Caracas until an earthquake ruins him in 1967 - when he decides to write the book that brings his international fame.
Perhaps a surprise choice! For it tells things not from the perspective of someone who has committed a crime, or been in jail, but from that of a real prison officer.
In that sense, the writer has actually been in prison, and reading it makes you think that those who work in such places are in some ways serving sentences of their own. As a prisoner, it was sometimes easy to see ‘the screws’ all in the same way, but doing so is no less erroneous and one-dimensional than seeing all prisoners as the same.
Likewise, I found the book to succeed in portraying many of the misunderstood nuances of prison life, and the challenges those inside face – on both sides of the system – to achieve redemption.
"My name is Ronnie Thompson. Being a prison officer was something I used to be proud of. I soon realised the truth of what it's like working as a screw, though. It's a fucking headache. Corruption, danger, violence. Welcome to my world." Ronnie Thompson was just an ordinary guy. That is, until he became a prison officer. By the time he started work at HMP Romwell, he realised he was actually a nurse, a copper, a probation officer, a carer, a counsellor, a social worker and, of course, an incarcerator all in one. Oh, and a punch bag for the…
The book covers the 6 years I spent in 12 different British prisons, showcasing aspects of the criminal justice system that are rarely seen. I wrote it in the desire to educate and inform people, hoping to dispel common myths and stereotypes, whilst shedding a light on how the system can be improved.
My book is fantastical historical fiction about two characters who're wrestling with the monstrosity of their grief.
It takes you into London high society, where Ambrose tries to forget about how much he misses Bennett and how much he dreads becoming as cold as their Grandfather. It takes you to the family's country manor house, where Mattie isolates and old ghosts start to come out of the woodwork.
It's a story about loss and depression; it's a story about friends who don't let you walk through the valley of death alone.
Ambrose Bancroft returns to London society with his younger sister, hoping they'll leave ghosts of memory behind. They have only each other left. While Ambrose attempts to draw Mattie out, dragging her to balls and threatening to seek suitors for her, his sister recoils from his meddling. Finally, when Ambrose compels her to attend art class before she's ready, Mattie paints something horrific enough to banish them from society in public disgrace.
At Linwood Manor, Mattie and Ambrose aren't as alone as they think. Taking advantage of Mattie's desperate need to find freedom, a vanishing room lures Ambrose's sister into…
