| |
Jeffrey Archer, the famous author and former MP, was convicted for perjury on the 19th of July, 2001. He spent the first three weeks of his prison life at the high security prison in South London known as HM Prison Belmarsh. Here, he experienced a new facet of life. He rubbed shoulders with convicted murderers and drug lords. He also witnessed the flaws in the criminal justice system that allowed a teenaged boy with no previous record to be incarcerated with hardened criminals on a charge of shoplifting for almost a whole day.
Archer has written three volumes of his prison diaries. The title of each one is inspired from the titles of different sections of Dante`s Divine Comedy. For this reason, his three diaries are titled Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. A Prison Diary - VOL 1 is the first book, titled Hell. A Prison Diary - VOL 1 talks about Archer’s mother’s funeral, which became a media event. She had passed away on the last day of his trial. On his return, he was placed in the wing reserved for prisoners serving terms. Archer`s fame as an author and the kindness and regard that his fellow inmates treated him with, helped him through the tough days.
Many of these prisoners shared their stories with him, asked him for advice and even his autograph. Archer used the time he spent in prison to observe and highlight the plight of the prisoners and the flaws in the system. A Prison Diary - VOL 1 records his encounters with different kinds of people. His prison mates included sex offenders and those who were involved in petty crimes. The days he spent at Belmarsh introduced him to a new world and he recorded his impressions in this book.
The author followed a strict writing schedule, and A Prison Diary - VOL 1 is a compilation of what he experienced on each day. It is an interesting book that provides some insights into the workings of the law enforcement, justice and prison systems in the UK.ISBN - 9780330418591
|
| |
Pages : 259
|