The Top Seven Best Fictional Prison Book Published

By Debra Wood


Literature is a branch of the arts and science that contains numerous branches that expand on various topics. As more authors are born and go on to create works of their own, each existing genre becomes more defined and more contributions are added into it. An existing genre that has been around since 524 AD is prison literature, which relates to stories that take place in it, or were written by people who were currently imprisoned at that time without their consent.

It generally encompasses all books that were written by authors who were trapped in a jail cell or in house arrest during the time of writing. The contents of these books often range from the experience of living in such condition, or are based on actual events that took place in a similar setting. For more information regarding this, you will find a short list of great Fictional Prison Book ever written below.

Fyodor Dostoevsky is a well established author who is the leading founders of a movement called Realism. A popular work of fiction that he wrote that falls under this category is titled The House of the Dead. The story focuses on various convicts who are residing in a prison camp in Siberia. It contained many references to past events and actual facts, related to philosophy and politics.

Orange is the New Black is known mostly as a popular series, available in major streaming sites. However, what most people are not aware of, is that it was actually a book written by Piper Kerman. It is considered to be her memoir, following the experience of being imprisoned after being convicted of money laundering and drug trafficking.

Arthur Koestler wrote Darkness at Noon, which focused on the real life event of Moscow show trials. Koestler is a Hungarian author and critic regarded this particular book as his best one yet. Even though he neither confirmed or denied it, the content was an obvious reference to the tragedies that took place in that event, but did not state any names or locations.

Margaret Atwood became nominated for many awards and went on to win a few after publishing Alias Grace. While based on a real murder that took place, it focused more on the serial killers rather than the victims. Two servants who worked for Thomas Kinnear conspired to kill him and one of his housekeepers. When they were found out, they faced heavy prison sentences.

While most often remembered as a work of science fiction, The Star Rover still contained many elements of this kind of literature. Jack London is responsible for this work of art and elaborates on Darell, a man who used to work as a professor in a popular university. However, he was sentenced to prison after discovering that he killed a person. During which, he is subjected to torture by means of wearing a tight jacket that compresses all his body organs. As a means of escapism, he teaches himself to go into a trance state, where his soul and mind travels to different dimensions and planets.

Jean Genet has a reputation for being an activist for politics and human rights. However, he was also a novelist who wrote many books and poems, including Our Lady of the Flowers. The prose itself is reminiscent of poetical prose and focuses on a character who resides in the undergrounds of a Parisian society. While he resides here, the encounters a bunch of people who are accustomed to such bleak lifestyles and most of them are homosexuals.

Nawal El Saadawi is a prominent figure in feminism and art forms that focus on this subject matter. A popular novel she wrote about it is Memoirs from the Women Prison. It contained some firsthand witness accounts from different people regarding the feminist movement and their struggle to break free from state violence and male white corporate oppression.




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