Guarded Words: Writing from Prison: England, France, Russia

“Can prison writing lay claim to a distinctive chapter in histories of literature? Is there a thread linking prisoners’ output across the centuries? Can confinement provide the ideal environment for literary creativity? Is there common ground among the subjects treated? Alternatively, does diversity ride rough—shod over the shared experiences of imprisonment?”—Isaac D’Israeli’s “Imprisonment of Learned” from Curiosities of Literature

Eric de Bellaigue has attempted to answer the questions p...