Prison Diary [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Jeffery Archer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2007

'The sun is shining through the bars of my window on what must be a glorious summer day. I've been incarcerated in a cell five paces by three for twelve and a half hours, and will not be let out again until midday; eighteen and a half hours of solitary confinement. There is a child of seventeen in the cell below me who has been charged with shoplifting - his first offence, not even convicted - and he is being locked up for eighteen and a half hours, unable to speak to anyone. This is Great Britain in the twenty-first century, not Turkey, not Nigeria, not Kosovo, but Britain.' On Thursday 19 July 2001, after a perjury trial lasting seven weeks, Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years in jail. He was to spend the first twenty-two days and fourteen hours in HMP Belmarsh, a double A-Category high-security prison in South London, which houses some of Britain's most violent criminals. This is the author's daily record of the time he spent there.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"They've now supplied me with a Bic razor...I consider cutting my throat, but the thought of failure and having to return to that awful hospital wing is enough to put anyone off."

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Macmillan (September 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230015964
• ISBN-13: 978-0230015968
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,094,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical Archer, January 17, 2011

By 

Paul Rooney "Paul Rooney" (Opotiki,New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prison Diary (Audio CD)

In 2001 author and deputy chairman of the British Conservative Party (Lord) Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years imprisonment for perjury. Guess what? he was innocent as well!!.

During his time in prison he wrote three diaries, one each for the different prisons he served his time in.

The edition I have has all three volumes incorporated and I have read the first volume "Hell". This concerns his first three weeks of incarceration at the maximum security prison Bellmarsh.

It is a quirk of the British justice system that you initially get sent to a maximum security prison to get classified before being sent to a prison that suits your crime and history etc. Personally this seems a bit harsh even for the likes of Archer, as a drunk driver is locked up with career criminals who are doing years in maximum.

As I said above, Archer thinks he was innocent and constantly writes about it, but reading this diary if Jeffrey Archer told me the sky was blue, I would go outside and check.

What I really have a problem with is that even though Archer was a celebrity prisoner I cannot see multiple murderers opening up to a short term prisoner in the way he says they do.

I will persevere and read the other two volumes as the first was only over a three week period and he managed to write 267 pages on that. The following two diaries may give a bit more about the system rather than poor old innocent Jeff.

4.0 out of 5 stars I Wish The Other Books In The Prison Diary Series Were Available As Audio Books, March 4, 2010

By 

Holly Fagan "Holly" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Prison Diary (Audio CD)

As a fan of Jeffrey Archer's novels, I was intrigued to learn of his time in prison. I am a die-hard audio book addict, so I was delighted to find this in audio book format. The narrator does an excellent job, and overall adds to book's persona.

The book details the first few weeks Archer spent in Belmarsh prison, while waiting transfer to his assigned prison. The tone of the book is very matter-of-fact and reads like he is reciting his schedule. What makes it interesting is that it is his schedule of his prison routine.

Much is made over the fact that Belmarsh is a top security prison, home to serious criminals such as murderers and rapists. But on the whole, Archer is well treated by both the prison personnel and the inmates. He is even able to maintain his usual writing schedule. The biggest hardships appear to be the food and being confined to his cell for 22 hours per day.

Overall, it is an interesting peek into one person's experience in prison. I would be interested in reading the other two books in the series, and hope they become available in audiobook format.