A Prison Diary
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On July 19, 2001, following a conviction for perjury, international bestselling author Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years in prison. When A Prison Diary was published in England, it was condemned by the prison authorities, and praised by the critics.
Prisoner FF8282, as Archer is now known, spent the first three weeks in the notorious HMP Belmarsh, a high-security prison in South London, home to murderers, terrorists and some of Britain's most violent criminals.
On the last day of the trial, his mother dies, and the world's press accompany him to the funeral. On returning to prison, he's placed on the lifer's wing, where a cellmate sells his story to the tabloids. Prisoners and guards routinely line up outside his cell to ask for his autograph, to write letters, and to seek advice on their appeals.
For twenty-two days, Archer was locked in a cell with a murderer and a drug baron. He decided to use that time to write an hour-by-hour diary, detailing the worst three weeks of his life.
Please note: This ebook edition does not contain all illustrations that appeared in the print edition.
Jeffrey Archer
Jeffrey Archer, whose novels and short stories include the Clifton Chronicles, Kane and Abel and Cat O’ Nine Tales, is one of the world’s favourite storytellers and topped the bestseller lists around the world in a career spanning four decades. His work has been sold in more than 100 countries and in fifty-one languages. He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction, short stories and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).
Jeffrey was also an art collector and amateur auctioneer, and raised more than £50m for different charities over the years. A member of the House of Lords for over a quarter of a century, the author was married to Dame Mary Archer, and they had two sons, two granddaughters and three grandsons. He died in October 2026.
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