Prison literature refers to literature that has been created while the writer is imprisoned. Many works by many famous authors have been produced under these circumstances. The genre lumps together all works produced in this manner, whether fiction or nonfiction.
While a good many written works were created behind bars, some of the more famous examples include Mein Kampf (by Adolf Hitler), The Pilgrim's Progress (by John Bunyan) and De Profundis (by Oscar Wilde), while Jeffrey Archer wrote his prison memoirs in jail and Marquis de Sade produced a huge body of work while imprisoned for more than 10 years.
Hitler made news in the 1920s with a failed attempt at revolution, known as the Bier Hall Putsch, for which he was imprisoned in 1924. During his jail time he began writing Mein Kampf ("My Struggle") - when he later came to power, the popularity of the book in Nazi Germany exploded. Some 10 million of the books had found their way into German hands by the end of the War in 1945. Mein Kampf remains a contentious work today, due to its anti-Jewish sentiments.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest books written in English, The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan found publication in 1678. The names given to the individuals found in the story are things like "Pliable", "Christian", "Evangelist", "Obstinate", "Mr. Worldly Wiseman" and so on, which hints at the symbolic nature of the storytelling. It is not known precisely when writing of The Pilgrim's Progress was started, as it could have been during any of several periods spent in jail by Bunyan.
A more recent author of this genre is Jeffrey Archer, the former British politician who was jailed for perjury and perverting the course of justice. During his jail term he wrote his 3 prison memoirs, Belmarsh: Hell, Wayland: Purgatory, and North Sea Camp: Heaven. The books largely deal with prison life, and some of the people he met in jail came to inspire characters in his career as a successful fiction writer. Archer's book sales seem unharmed by his notoriety, as they are in the hundreds of millions.
Another scandalous author to fall into prison writing was Marquis de Sade. His work was notoriously explicit and shocking, and he was arrested specifically due to two of his books, Justine and Juliette. It is interesting to note that the arrest was ordered by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, who in turn would produce a popular autobiographical work while imprisoned on St. Helena Island. Sade was very active as a writer during his eleven years imprisoned in the Bastille, producing 16 novellas, 11 novels, some 20 works for theater, and 2 volumes of essays, as well as his diary.
Slightly later in the 1800s, Oscar Wilde was in legal trouble for a different kind of sex crime. At the time in England a man could be charged with gross indecency if he was found to be sexually involved with another man, and for this, Wilde was imprisoned. An unsent letter written by Wilde in jail was edited and published as "De Profundis" posthumously. The letter was to Wilde's intimate companion Lord Alfred Douglas, and ran to around 50,000 words. The original text that was the source material for De Profundis has since been published in full.
These are just a few of the writers who have produced famous work while being held prisoner. They were able to remain productive despite imprisonment, while for their readers, the thrills of notorious authors, unfair imprisonments and the gritty world behind bars only enhance the appeal of prison literature.
While a good many written works were created behind bars, some of the more famous examples include Mein Kampf (by Adolf Hitler), The Pilgrim's Progress (by John Bunyan) and De Profundis (by Oscar Wilde), while Jeffrey Archer wrote his prison memoirs in jail and Marquis de Sade produced a huge body of work while imprisoned for more than 10 years.
Hitler made news in the 1920s with a failed attempt at revolution, known as the Bier Hall Putsch, for which he was imprisoned in 1924. During his jail time he began writing Mein Kampf ("My Struggle") - when he later came to power, the popularity of the book in Nazi Germany exploded. Some 10 million of the books had found their way into German hands by the end of the War in 1945. Mein Kampf remains a contentious work today, due to its anti-Jewish sentiments.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest books written in English, The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan found publication in 1678. The names given to the individuals found in the story are things like "Pliable", "Christian", "Evangelist", "Obstinate", "Mr. Worldly Wiseman" and so on, which hints at the symbolic nature of the storytelling. It is not known precisely when writing of The Pilgrim's Progress was started, as it could have been during any of several periods spent in jail by Bunyan.
A more recent author of this genre is Jeffrey Archer, the former British politician who was jailed for perjury and perverting the course of justice. During his jail term he wrote his 3 prison memoirs, Belmarsh: Hell, Wayland: Purgatory, and North Sea Camp: Heaven. The books largely deal with prison life, and some of the people he met in jail came to inspire characters in his career as a successful fiction writer. Archer's book sales seem unharmed by his notoriety, as they are in the hundreds of millions.
Another scandalous author to fall into prison writing was Marquis de Sade. His work was notoriously explicit and shocking, and he was arrested specifically due to two of his books, Justine and Juliette. It is interesting to note that the arrest was ordered by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, who in turn would produce a popular autobiographical work while imprisoned on St. Helena Island. Sade was very active as a writer during his eleven years imprisoned in the Bastille, producing 16 novellas, 11 novels, some 20 works for theater, and 2 volumes of essays, as well as his diary.
Slightly later in the 1800s, Oscar Wilde was in legal trouble for a different kind of sex crime. At the time in England a man could be charged with gross indecency if he was found to be sexually involved with another man, and for this, Wilde was imprisoned. An unsent letter written by Wilde in jail was edited and published as "De Profundis" posthumously. The letter was to Wilde's intimate companion Lord Alfred Douglas, and ran to around 50,000 words. The original text that was the source material for De Profundis has since been published in full.
These are just a few of the writers who have produced famous work while being held prisoner. They were able to remain productive despite imprisonment, while for their readers, the thrills of notorious authors, unfair imprisonments and the gritty world behind bars only enhance the appeal of prison literature.
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