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The extraordinary human story of London's most infamous prison

About the Author

Kelly Grovier was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles and at Oxford University, where he wrote his doctorate on the eighteenth-century philosopher and adventurer 'Walking' Stewart. He is the author of A lens in the palm 'Carcanet, January 2008' and a regular contributor to The Times Literary Supplement and The Observer. He is the co-founder of the scholarly journal European Romantic Review and a lecturer at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Reviews

Gripping . . . Grovier's treatment of the material organisation of the place is excellent . . . Newgate's role in the evolution of London, in the creation of crime in the public imagination, in the development of the concept of the prison, is unmatched, and Grovier relates it compellingly - Daily TelegraphThe author has a keen eye for the grisly detail . . . In many ways The Gaol is an upmarket extension of The Newgate Calender, the blood-and-guts, five-volume blockbuster full of all the gory details, that was on every 18th Century bookshelf - Mail on SundayA story of eyewatering misery . . . In a clear readable style that takes the reader at a pleasantly trotting pace through the centuries of oppression and inhumanity - Evening StandardBeguiling lyricism . . . He is interested in Newgate's place in the collective psyche, 'a more intimate story' than historians have managed . . . vividly evoked - Sunday TelegraphGrovier revels in gory tales and colourful characters linked to the place - Sunday TelegraphGrovier's study is a sparkling tribute to a grim cultural phenomenon - Daily ExpressKelly Grovier's brisk and well-organised book...gives a hauntingly clear picture of the place, its inmates, the staff and, of particular delight to the reviewer, the slang they used - The Daily Telegraph: 'Pick of the Paperbacks', Toby ClementsA terrific read - Scotsman