Inside Wakefield Prison: Life Behind Bars in the Monster Mansion

by Jonathan Levi and Emma French

HMP Wakefield. 'Monster Mansion'. Hell to be inside. Almost impossible to escape. This prison has seen some of the most infamous prisoners of all time pass through its cells - from Levi Bellfield to Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley and Charles Bronson.

Jonathan Levi and Emma French are the perfect authors to give chilling insight into all the terrible men who have served time there. After detailing the shocking truth of life in Britain's most high-profile psychiatric hospital in their bestselling book Inside Broadmoor, now they will take readers behind bars in this the UK's most notorious prison.

Inside Wakefield Prison will trace its long and intriguing history, from when it was first built in 1594 all the way up to the present day. Today, just over 750 of the country's most dangerous offenders are kept there, including 'Hannibal the Cannibal' Robert Maudsley, notorious killer Jeremy Bamber and former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins.

Featuring all the sinister and truly horrifying stories that have emerged from the prison, as well as new unheard tales, this book will fascinate and shock readers on every page. Told with the help of interviews with staff, experts - and even in the words of the prisoners themselves - this is a no-holds-barred journey into the dark.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, Ebooks

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2024

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book looking at wakefield prison and the system and some of the current/former prisoners of the prison too

[Danni The Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally rate books like this 3 stars as I find them hard to rate being based on real life events.

The writing is good and easy to follow. Saying that I listened to the audio of this. The narration was good and I was sucked in wanting to know all the information. It's very informative with how the prison is run and even goes in detail about timings of when prisoners can be out of their cell and the amount of clothes they are entitled too.
It also has chapters going into details of famous prisoners that are currently there. There was a lot of information that I didn't know and I thought this was great with how much research the authors have gone into. Highly recommend

[Laur · Rating 3 out of 5]

History of the prison, its staff, some of the prisoners that were/are there. Not edge of your seat stuff, but fairly informative.

[Victoria White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of concerned about just how much I enjoyed this!!

Yes, the writing is very, very basic with some sentences not making much sense and a huge preference for the word ‘however’, however (😉) I found it fascinating. I liked reading nonfiction that was easy to follow and enjoyed learning more about life behind bars, the reality of it and some of the very public prisoners.

[Gary Southwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this very interesting- so much so I bought a similar one about another prison

[Boo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first book in my life I couldn't bear to finish!!!

After seeing this advertised as 'unheard tales' about prisoners in Wakefield I bought it mainly to hear about the depraved and evil Ian Watkins, as I was a Lostprophets fan as a teenager, hoping to have an insight into his prison life. What a waste of money. HARDLY any pages on the actual prisoners more stories about the prison life from people who have worked there. I ended up scan reading the second half of the book as I just got completely bored. The writing style wasn't for me either, it was more like reading newspaper articles... Definitely not the book I thought it was going to be!

[Nicky Snape · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing of this book wasn't mind blowing. It was down to earth (sometimes books like these are overcomplicated trying to sound smart but really just alienating the reader *cough* Christopher Berry-Dee *cough*) but at times it felt like it hadn't really been proof read, with grammar errors and sentences that didn't also make sense or flow well. Despite this, the content of the book itself was interesting and generally accurate and it was clear that a lot of work went into researching it to ensure it was true journalism rather than the media sensationalism that usually surrounds the prison service.

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is arguably more interesting than inside broadmoor. The narration is great, I learned loads about prison and my favourite part was when they called Ian Huntley a wet lettuce which is the most accurate description of that horrid man.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be more about the inmates, not so much about the guards, but it turned out to be an interesting book nevertheless

[Mariana Nastini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Badly written. A lot of sentences are repeated. Took me a while to finish it and I didn’t really enjoy it.

[Sophie Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every minute of it

[Amiebeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it very interesting, but the writing felt like it hadn’t been proof read, with repeating parts and the narrative jumping all over the spot so it was hard to keep track sometimes.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but it needed a bit of something something more

[emilyreadscrime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. Informative - a peak into the going’s on inside Wakefield prison.

[Keely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the writing style. It has too many anecdotes, very scattered at times and is way too surface level. Nothing is given depth that you can sink your teeth in. I didn't learn anything new but might be a good opener/over view if this if your first non fiction book about this subject if you can tolerate the writing style, it's very casual and feels like reading the tabloids at times. I've read a lot of books within this sphere, therefore I've read better and I already know quite a bit. And despite the title, there is nothing new in here that hasn't been discussed elsewhere. And I found it annoying that it was talked about glamorising a certain person, which is all good, only to do that to another person in the next chapter. They talk to Vanessa Frake, whose book I reccomend, as she has a lot more to say than the pages she was given. She's a real interesting person with an likable writing style that feels very conversational. There are plenty of other books in this sphere that are better, they may not give you a brief overview of history of the buildings, but they're solid reads if you want to know about prisons and what it is like inside. And depending on what you want from this sphere of non fiction (Like do you want to hear from prison officers? The prisoners? The doctors? The people who run groups?), there is a better book out there. Just need to decide what area of focus you're more interested in, as I find general overview books that are a bit of everything like this book is, often leave me feel unsatisfied and frustrated, but you may not have that problem. And even then, there is probably better general overview books out there.

[Haley Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF..

Absolute trash. Who did they get to proofread this for starters? Missing words, sentence structure needs work, and it is beyond repetitive. Considering the sheer number of high profile prisoners held in this prison, the amount of interesting information is minimal.

The first 7 chapters talk solely about the prison hierarchy of staff and anecdotes of which staff worked in which prisons. We then glance over a few high-profile cases, and it's right back into the boring paperwork side of prisons. Don't bother. It's not what it appears to be.

[Sarah Evans]

If you've ever wondered what life is really like behind the walls of one of Britain’s toughest prisons, Inside Wakefield Prison offers an eye-opening, often chilling glimpse. Levi and French take us deep into the “Monster Mansion,” where notorious criminals are housed. The book balances harrowing accounts of life inside with thoughtful insights into the prison system and the lives of those who pass through it.

The authors managed to humanise both the staff and the inmates, without shying away from the grim realities. The stories are equal parts heartbreaking and horrifying, giving you pause to consider the impact of such an environment on everyone involved. It's raw, honest, and at times, deeply unsettling, but also an important read for anyone interested in justice and reform.

While the writing occasionally drifts into the overly academic, the real-life stories pull you back in. A fascinating, if disturbing, look into a world most of us will (thankfully) never experience.

[Leah 🍒 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a really interesting insight into HMP Wakefield and different aspects of working in the prison service. There are multiple case studies in this book of notorious criminals at Wakefield including cannibal Robert Maudsley who lives in a Perspex box in the lower levels of the prison, Ian Huntley, Charles Bronson, and others.

I’d recommend this book if you’re interested in what goes on inside of prisons as there is a lot of insight about the prisoners at Wakefield, the prison regime and the operation of institutions.

4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Dianne Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having worked as a nurse within the prison service, this book for me is rewarding and cathartic. It up holds the believe that changes within the prison service are long overdue especially as I have known seasoned offices hang their keys up with years left to work. I also believe that the training for officers does not go far enough. It's a brilliant book for giving Joe public information and also for dispelling some deep seated rumours and misunderstandings

[Hazel's Bookshelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goodness me, this was so poorly written. It was like prison staff and prisoners had written anecdotes on pieces of paper and put them in a bag, the ‘writers’ then put them together in any random order. I learnt very little about Wakefield Prison or its guests. The writing didn’t flow at all. Very disappointed.

[Olly Mogs · Rating 2 out of 5]

a 2.5 rounded down

the subject is fascinating but the writing is dire. the language is sensationalist, rather like reading a 300 page tabloid. it is very poorly edited, the narrative is fractured, and sometimes you're left wondering what the author is getting at.

for example, after 270 odd pages we finally get to the bit about the Braille unit which I was certainly interesting to read about, especially as it's something of a dying art. they go to quote and "expert" on the matter except the quote starts "there is a big asylum seeker house next to the prison in Wakefield. The thing that is removed in all of these situations is hope". I have no idea how these threads are related.

there is an overuse of the word "lol". They keep telling us stuff that will happen in later chapters (or refer back to previous chapters).

yeah, not the best.

[Megan Wintrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, the first 5 chapters are mainly about the history of Wakefield Prison aka Monster Mansion. This was quite nice to read about.

Then we get into the nitty gritty, the killers, the pedos, the psychos and the down right bad. Here are some of the awful people we have to read about:
* Robert Maudsley
* Charles Bronson
* Colin Ireland
* Ian Watkins
* Harold Shipman
* Ian Huntley
* Rose West

The book also had things about prison transfers, staff care, manipulation, prison life, segregation etc etc.

What I enjoyed mostly was the accounts from the prisoners. I love getting into the nitty gritty and finding out some things I may or may not have heard about before!

I really liked this one and I'm excited to read the next one!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read by these authors, the first being the Broadmoor book. I really enjoyed that book, so was keen to read this one. This one was about HMP Wakefield, or the Monster Mansion as it’s more commonly known as. HMP Wakefield has held some of the more infamous offenders of our time, such as Charles Bronson, Harold Shipman and Ian Huntley. This one for me though wasn’t as interesting as the Broadmoor book was. I really enjoyed the parts about the prison itself, how it was laid out, the different floors/sections and, of course, it’s prisoners. However, the stories about the infamous prisoners it has held was limited and instead we were given an awful lot of interviews with former/present staff, and it felt like their stories weren’t always about Wakefield, but about other prisoners they’d worked in. There was some interesting information in it, but I didn’t find it as good a read as I was expecting.

[Emily Truman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title states, you are given an insight into Wakefield prison and the stories of notorious criminals along the likes of Harold shipman, Jeremy bamber and the list goes on.
Aswell as first hand accounts from prisons within the prisons it also gives you points of views from different staff within the prison who all have their own opinions and story’s to tell in different ways which keeps it interesting.
I found once you worked out the style of writing the authors used it was very easy to follow.

[Cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts are interesting but it's highly anecdotal and uses very few statistics or much history. Sensationalises violence and shock stories (goes into a lot of gory detail). Effectively just a series of very short stories rather than a deeper insight. Didn't particularly enjoy the writing style, feels a bit patronising.

[Eibhlin O’Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good balanced account of HMP Wakefield. I really appreciated that it wasn’t overly dramatic in its accounts of real prisoners there. I also appreciated the staff accounts and their work in particular, as it’s often an unappreciated, underpaid career. Finally, the audiobook was very good I have to say. The narrator read in a very compelling manner for a nonfiction book.

[Ben Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another extrodanairy book from the series. The history that is captured in this is amazing, There are stories from the old and new times from both inmates and staff. It also opens up about a lot of the issues in the UK's prison system and how they hope to avoid them in the past. It took me 4 days to fully read this beauty. Overall this is an awesome book and I highly recommend it.

[Ryan Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The front cover suggests this about Wakefield's most notorious inmates, and it is, it's just largely (I'd say 80%) more about the workings of the prison; policies, procedures, staff, legislation etc. As a true crime enthusiast searching for macarbe abs morbid serialisation - this was disappointing. An easy read, none the less.

[Nicola · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Such a shame as I enjoyed the first book that was written - this one I really didn’t like. The grammar, the way the entire book was put together, sentences not making any sense - the list goes on.

I tried to push through but couldn’t finish it.

[Holly Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent insight into Wakefield and New Hall prisons.
I found it very informative and I struggled to put the book down.

They also discussed some of englands deadliest prisoners such as Ian Huntley.

I would recommend the read! I didn’t want to put it down x