Dartmoor From Within – By Ex-Convict No-

Description

Dartmoor From Within

By Ex-Convict No-

(Jock of Dartmoor)

Edited by Yvette Rougemont

Dartmoor from Within is the real-life account of a convict, who spent time in one of Britain’s most notorious prisons, a hundred years ago. It was written anonymously by an ex-prisoner who was sentenced to four years’ hard labour and gives a fascinating insight into the systems and setup of the prison at the time, and includes: the hierarchy of criminals, their daily routines, and the prison’s rules and punishments. But, the author ‘Jock’ also shows an understanding of the inmates, sharing their experiences and beliefs, together with those men who were employed to guard them. This is a reprint of an original work published in 1932, and has been enhanced by combining the narrative with Human Stories of Prison Life also written by ‘Jock of Dartmoor’.

The editor’s foreword takes us on the search for the real ‘Jock’ and traces his upbringing and career, and his own ‘road to Dartmoor.’ But it was his experiences in Dartmoor prison that marked a turning point in his life and was the start of a new successful career in journalism. However, throughout his life ‘Jock’ was very elusive about his past and he took on many aliases in order to confuse others about his background and various dubious incidents in his life.

This publication also provides further interesting information about the various subjects contained in Dartmoor from Within, including a brief history of the prison at Princetown, the ‘mutiny’ of 1932 and Jock’s own trial – the Wimbledon Blackmail Case. Included are the backgrounds to some of the criminals who ‘Jock’ met in prison, including Frederick Browne and Frederick Squires, and the more eccentric characters associated with the prison at Dartmoor, such as David Davis, the ‘Dartmoor Shepherd’ and Brian Wilson the ‘Birdman of Wandsworth.’

This paperback book is a faithful and accurate reprint of the original ‘anonymous’ early twentieth century publication and has been proofread so that it reads as smoothly as possible. It is not a scanned copy without corrections, unlike many disappointing modern reprints.

Dartmoor From Within is the second publication in a planned series of reprinted books by Stone Cross Reprints.

231 pages with 29 black and white illustrations.

Price – £10.00.