In July 2001, Jeffrey Archer was convicted in Britain for perjury and sentenced to a four-year prison term.
His sentence started with a stint at a Category A (maximum security) prison and progressed to a Category C prison, and finally, a Category D (open) prison.
Archer has said that he plans to publish three volumes of prison diaries, one for each category of prison.
This review is about Volume One - Belmarsh: Hell.
The other two are called Volume Two: Purgatory, and Volume Three: Heaven.
Volume One: Belmarsh is a series of chronological diary entries: Oct 11, 7.30 am; Nov 25, 5.30 pm... you get the idea.
The book is very different from the traditional Archer tales of high drama and skullduggery, often between separated family members.
On the face of it, the book is a straight forward account of the time Archer spent at Belmarsh among convicted murderers, rapists and drug dealers, until he leaves for a lesser security prison.
We are treated to a rare and gripping account of life in a maximum security prison. Through Archer’s eyes, we come to know of the hierarchies of prison life, the bullying, the rampant smuggling of drugs, the violence, the appalling food for the inmates, the desolation and despair of solitary confinement, and the rapid brutalization of minor offenders placed in proximity to seasoned criminals.
Its a fascinating glimpse of prison life in the Britain of 2001. The narrative is pacy and unsentimental. The characters are real-life people though their lives seem far removed from ours. It is compelling reading and you are entranced.
Beware!
Throughout the narrative, Archer keeps up a running commentary on the many hundreds of letters of support that he apparently receives questioning the judge’s verdict and sentencing. Archer trots up several arguments to try and convince readers that he was treated unfairly, perhaps even unlawfully by the ’system’.
By the end of the book, you are nearly convinced that Lord Archer, sometime MP, millionaire author, candidate for the Mayor of London, friend of stars and prime ministers, and convicted perjurer, is actually a rather decent bloke who was fooled into naughty behaviour only because he trusted a lying and thieving secretary too much.
It’s all very beguiling. That is why it is so important to search for some other viewpoints on the life and times of Jeffrey Archer.
And what an education that turns out to be! There is plenty of published material on Archer’s colorful life from usually credible sources like the BBC, Guardian, Independent and so on (be warned, Archer thinks the press are lying fools).
The picture of Archer that emerges from these sources is of a man who is a ’consummate manipulative fantasist’ with selective memory and very questionable morals.
Everyone agrees though that Archer is a compelling author of potboiler novels and spins wonderful yarns.
I guess that is my conclusion too. I’m a fan of Archer’s books and have read and enjoyed most of them. They were fascinating to read, but were largely based on fantasy and half-truths.
This prison diary seems to continue that tradition.
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Update: On 21 July 2003, Jeffrey Archer was released on parole after serving a little over two of his four year sentence.