New in bookshops, A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer (2008, Macmillan, 531 pages) may be the best novel yet by one of the world’s most successful authors.
This enthralling tale of murder, injustice, love and revenge follows a twisty and perilous route. Archer reserves the last of many surprises for the final line – nay, the final word.
A past member of Britain’s House of Commons and the House of Lords, Archer also spent two years in prison (starting in 2001) for perjury. As a former prisoner, he holds inside-knowledge that gives this story, notably the prison and courtroom scenes, levels of detail, realism and credibility that most authors couldn’t match.
“Danny followed the officer down a long brick corridor that was painted in a shade of mauve no other establishment would have considered purchasing in bulk. They came to a halt at a double-barred gate.… They now stepped into a corridor whose walls were painted green – a sign that they had reached a secure area. Everything in prison is colour-coded…. The color of the walls had turned from mauvre to green to blue by the time Danny’s keeper turned him over to a unit officer who wore the same blue uniform, the same white shirt, the same black tie, and had the inevitable shaven head to prove that he was just as hard as any of the inmates.”
Previously, Archer has relied on politics as a favorite subject, drawing on his personal history. But the prison-cell realism emerges as more convincing and raw.
One character, Nick Moncrieff, a gentlemanly convict, keeps prison diaries like Archer did. Readers will presume that Nick represents the author’s own prison experiences.
“Big Al was snoring, which Nick had once described in his diary as sounding like a cross between an elephant drinking and a ship’s foghorn. Nick somehow managed to sleep through any amount of rap music emanating from the nearby cells, but he still hadn’t come to terms with Big Al’s snoring….”
On the opening page, auto mechanic Danny Cartwright proposes to Beth Wilson, the love of his life. But a bar-room dispute leads to a brawl. In the melee, Beth’s brother, Bernie, suffers fatal stab wounds.
Mistakenly, the police arrest Danny. The real culprit, an unscrupulous lawyer, comes from a privileged past, unlike Danny’s humble beginnings. “But then, m’lord, we all suffer in our different ways from being prisoners of birth.”
With the affluent villain conspiring and lying, supported by testimony from his friends, Danny faces 22 years in a high-security prison. There, he nearly despairs until a jailhouse murder and lucky coincidences (unlikely ones perhaps) create a chance for retribution.
“He would stalk his prey like an animal, observing them at a distance while they relaxed in their natural habitat….”
But problems arise. “Danny felt exhausted, and he’d only been out of prison for a few hours. The pace of everything was so much quicker and, hardest of all, you had to make decisions.”
There’s plenty of gentle humor. When Danny and Nick attend religious services in the prison chapel:
“Dave, whose name was printed in bold letters on a lapel badge pinned to his cassock, turned out to be a good old-fashioned fire and brimstone priest, who had chosen murder as his text for the day. This drew loud cries of ‘Hallelujah!’ from the first three rows, mainly populated by boisterous Afro-Caribbeans who seemed to know a thing or two about the subject.”
Later, Nick instructs Danny on fine dining.
“Big Al suddenly sat bolt upright on his bunk. ‘Whit’s the fucking point of aw this?’ he demanded. ‘This isnae a restaurant, it’s a prison. The only thing Danny boy’s gonnae be eating for the next twenty years is cold turkey.’
‘And tomorrow,’ said Nick, ignoring him, ‘I’ll show you how to taste wine after the waiter has poured a small amount into your glass….’
‘Ad the day efter that,’ said Big Al, accompanied by a long fart, ‘I shall allow you to sip a sample of ma piss, a rare vintage that wull remind ye yur in prison and no in the fuckin’ Ritz.’ ”
The diverse settings range from prison cells and Sotheby’s auction rooms to theatre seats and the public gallery at the House of Commons. As needed, the author did substantial research, and it shows. For example, there’s detailed discussion of rare stamps, their merits and values.
Archer, a resident of London and Cambridge, has sold more than 135 million books. His previous novel, False Impression, lingered on the UK bestseller lists. Earlier, he wrote 12 other popular novels, including: Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less; Kane and Abel; The Prodigal Daughter; First Among Equals; The Fourth Estate; and The Eleventh Commandment. He also has short-story collections, plays and three volumes of prison diaries.
As a storyteller, Archer appears charmed. In A Prisoner of Birth, the magic’s extra potent.
Approval Rating: 90 per cent
For more information: www.jeffreyarcher.com
(March 28, 2008)
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