Customer Reviews

Prison Diary

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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.

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.