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Inside: Women Behind Bars
THE INCREDIBLE NEW BOOK FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS OF INSIDE BROADMOOR AND INSIDE WAKEFIELD PRISON
'Women's prison is a very dark place. Not much light coming through the bars.'
Rose West, Myra Hindley, Joanna Dennehy...
Women who were locked up for their sadistic crimes.
But what does the prison system really look like for women?
From the bestselling authors of Inside Broadmoor and Inside Wakefield Prison comes the definitive book on the women's prison estate, revealing a system in crisis, beset by widespread self-harm and scarce resources. Yet it can be a place of sanctuary from the outside world, too. With a trademark blend of exclusive access, staff testimony and prisoner revelations, Inside: Women Behind Bars is a visceral, shocking and moving examination of the routine and regime behind bars - from mothers and contraband to friendship and sex - revealing women's prisons as places of rehabilitation as well as violence.
From Holloway to New Hall, Bronzefield to Peterborough, Britain's prisons have housed, and still host, some of the world's most infamous female offenders, including serial killers, poisoners and paedophiles.
With eye-opening stories about the most notorious prisoners in recent history, as well as insight into the daily life of the most troubled and high-risk female inmates, Inside: Women Behind Bars offers a rare and revealing glimpse into the realities behind the headlines.
'Women's prison is a very dark place. Not much light coming through the bars.'
Rose West, Myra Hindley, Joanna Dennehy...
Women who were locked up for their sadistic crimes.
But what does the prison system really look like for women?
From the bestselling authors of Inside Broadmoor and Inside Wakefield Prison comes the definitive book on the women's prison estate, revealing a system in crisis, beset by widespread self-harm and scarce resources. Yet it can be a place of sanctuary from the outside world, too. With a trademark blend of exclusive access, staff testimony and prisoner revelations, Inside: Women Behind Bars is a visceral, shocking and moving examination of the routine and regime behind bars - from mothers and contraband to friendship and sex - revealing women's prisons as places of rehabilitation as well as violence.
From Holloway to New Hall, Bronzefield to Peterborough, Britain's prisons have housed, and still host, some of the world's most infamous female offenders, including serial killers, poisoners and paedophiles.
With eye-opening stories about the most notorious prisoners in recent history, as well as insight into the daily life of the most troubled and high-risk female inmates, Inside: Women Behind Bars offers a rare and revealing glimpse into the realities behind the headlines.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
270 pages, ebook
First published June 18, 2026
About the author
Jonathan Levi
17 books18 followersMúsico, periodista, escritor y productor. Es cofundador de una de las revistas literarias más reconocidas de Norteamérica: Granta. Ha publicado artículos y reseñas de libros en grandes publicaciones como The New York Times y Los Angeles Times. Ha trabajado escrito y dirigido obras de teatro y óperas. También trabajó con The Metropolitan Opera Guild y el Kennedy Center. «Septimania» es su regreso a la literatura después de un poco más de veinte años.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 20, 2026
Rather disjointed and repetitive I'm afraid.
July 22, 2026
A well-researched & well-written book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 27, 2026
I enjoyed this book on the women's penal system in the UK as it seemed quite rounded in the information it gave. With views from current & former prisoners and guards, Prison Directors and also from the authors themselves, it painted a reasonably balanced view of what happens, what needs to be done & why, how improvements should & could be made, along with the limitations faced in providing quality justice aimed at rehabilitating offenders rather than just punishing.
As an Australian I realise the social situation may differ in the UK, but I did feel the point about whether there was an actual need to lock up women for "small time crimes" was a bit over emphasised. I appreciate that for a lot of women the "choice" to commit certain crimes was driven more by circumstance than the desire to be a criminal is very much a reality, it would be a slippery dangerous slope to say that these crimes should avoid jail time for fear of disrupting family ties. There is a fine line that must be walked to properly serve women (and their dependants) in this situation, however this issue alone cannot be addressed by the justice system. Society as a whole needs to change to reduce this level of offending.
I liked that the book did not create heroes out of the "famous" prisoners, but still addressed their existence and how like was for them as readers do find it easier to relate what they read to those they have heard about. The stories of Myra Hindley & Rose West polarises readers and influences how everyday people view women offenders, so it was nice that their circumstances were mentioned but not the focus of the book as they are the exception and not the normal circumstances of majority of offenders. A true crime book that did not fawn over their celebrity was a welcome change.
I enjoyed how the book gave an overview on all levels of offending, all the options for incarceration and the differing facilities that service the region without trying to adhere to a particular political agenda.
As an Australian I realise the social situation may differ in the UK, but I did feel the point about whether there was an actual need to lock up women for "small time crimes" was a bit over emphasised. I appreciate that for a lot of women the "choice" to commit certain crimes was driven more by circumstance than the desire to be a criminal is very much a reality, it would be a slippery dangerous slope to say that these crimes should avoid jail time for fear of disrupting family ties. There is a fine line that must be walked to properly serve women (and their dependants) in this situation, however this issue alone cannot be addressed by the justice system. Society as a whole needs to change to reduce this level of offending.
I liked that the book did not create heroes out of the "famous" prisoners, but still addressed their existence and how like was for them as readers do find it easier to relate what they read to those they have heard about. The stories of Myra Hindley & Rose West polarises readers and influences how everyday people view women offenders, so it was nice that their circumstances were mentioned but not the focus of the book as they are the exception and not the normal circumstances of majority of offenders. A true crime book that did not fawn over their celebrity was a welcome change.
I enjoyed how the book gave an overview on all levels of offending, all the options for incarceration and the differing facilities that service the region without trying to adhere to a particular political agenda.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews