Letters for the Ages Behind Bars: Letters from History's Most Famous Prisoners

Letters for the Ages Behind Bars is a history of imprisonment told through letters from people incarcerated over many centuries, revealing the shifting purposes of imprisonment and raising issues of the death penalty, miscarriages of justice, redemption, and social change.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Letters for the Ages Behind Bars is a captivating history of imprisonment, spanning centuries and encompassing a wide range of crimes and motivations. It begins with St. Paul and continues to the present day, showcasing the enduring response of humankind to crime. The act of depriving someone of their liberty has evolved over time, serving various purposes such as expressing disapproval, punishing, protecting the public, rehabilitating, and even forgetting about those who are difficult to cope with. The letters assembled in this collection come from diverse parts of the world and from different eras, including Thomas Cromwell, Mary Queen of Scots, Eamon De Valera, Al Capone, and Martin Luther King, among many others. These letters not only provide a glimpse into the life of prisoners but also raise important issues that remain relevant today, such as the death penalty, miscarriages of justice, redemption, and social change. They offer a multifaceted perspective, revealing the contradictions and complexities of the prison system. The letters inspire, horrify, awe, and condemn, leaving a lasting impact on the reader. They shed light on the human experience behind bars, offering a unique insight into the complexities of the criminal justice system.

Weight: 524g
Dimension: 242 x 160 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399413893