Prison
Subtitle: five hundred years of life behind bars
By: Edward Marston
Publisher: National Archives
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Kew
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9781905615339
Subjects: Prisons; History; Prisoners; Convicts; Australia; Correctional institutions
Description: This compelling history of our most feared institution charts the growth of the national prison system in England and Wales, from castle dungeon to purpose-built concrete jail. Supported by unique material from The National Archives, it looks at aspects of prison life that stayed constant for centuries: loss of liberty, privacy and comfort; hard labour; restricted rations; solitary confinement; corporal punishment and execution - and describes key developments like Jeremy Bentham's panopticon, the Victorian spate of prison-building, and successive reform acts. Famous prisons from Newgate to Pentonville are depicted, as well as the curiosities, abuses and scandals that occurred within their walls, from the racking of Henry VIII's enemies to the force-feeding of suffragettes centuries later. At the heart of the book are dramatic stories of the men and women who lived or died behind bars.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Self-Renewing 2017
Table of contents: title: Introduction: life behind bars; title: 1. The great goals of London; title: 2. The state of eighteenth-century prisons; title: 3. Rat-infested prison hulks; title: 4. A most Victorian zeal; title: 5. No. place for a woman; title: 6. Suffragettes and the new century; title: 7. Prisoners of two world wars; title: 8. The last executions; title: Conclusion.