The Krays: The Prison Years

by David Meikle, Kate Beal Blyth

In the 60s, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were Britain’s most notorious gangsters. With violence and intimidation they were the kings of London. They sipped champagne with celebrities and rubbed shoulders with politicians. They were untouchable.

Until they weren’t.

After an undercover operation, the Kray twins were found guilty of murder and were sentenced to life in prison. They were just 35 years old.

But once inside, the twins were determined to make their stay truly historic. The Twins began earning more money inside than they ever did on the streets. They sold branded t-shirts and memorabilia and they allowed books and films to be published about their lives. They didn't stop.

Whilst locked up, their mother died as did their brother Charlie, and their associates and friends all fell away. But while Britain changed as a nation, the brothers continued to operate as the gangsters they once were. Their violence ingrained so deep that they couldn’t leave it behind.

The The Prison Years explores the fascinating and largely untold story of the Kray twins following their imprisonment.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

Hello, and thanks for looking at my profile. I am co-author of Reunited in the Desert. The book tells the true story of how Helle Amin's four boys were abducted to Saudi Arabia. After a series of dramatic twists and turns, she won them back. The hardback came out in 2007, and the paperback in July 2008.

When Helle Amin appeared in the Saudi court, I wrote:

'My accessories for the day were black gloves, black socks and a head cover attached to an overhanging black flap. This could be lifted to reveal my eyes, but in court it had to be in place, to conceal me completely.

'I was horrified when I tried it all on. Not one square inch of my body was allowed to be visible. No perfume was allowed: in fact, no trace of femininity at all. That dreaded black flap set the seal on the most dismal outfit I had ever worn in my entire life.'


Some links below. Put Helle Amin into the search boxes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

http://www.johnblakepublishing.co.uk

I run a creative writing company, called www.cleverwriting.co.uk which features the book and my other work.


I compose poems, and write 'About Us' plus various other pages for websites.

In my spare time I play the guitar, sing, and enjoy a game of tennis. I also love exploring the Hampshire countryside and planning new writing projects.

Hope this was a good read!

Thanks, David.

Reviews

[Angie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Have always been interested in the Krays and this book gives a really interesting insight into their prison years and eventual death.

[Toby Mustill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing book which looks into the prison life (and the events leading upto said life) of Ronnie and Reggie Kray. I feel as though I learnt an awful lot about who the Kray twins were as people and how they got to that place. The author does an excellent job of introducing all of the members of The Firm and their role within the group. All the more interesting though was how the Kray‘ lives changed while incarcerated and the difference between who they were as free gangsters vs. who they were as lifers. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in The Krays. My only slight complaint (hence the 4 stars) is the authors writing style in places - they tend to try and over sensationalize an already sensational (I don’t use the term sensational in an admiring way) story.

[Shiphrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[FJY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Although nothing in the book is very "mind-blowing", it does give a good insight into what life in prison was like for the Kray twins. I hadn't read a book like this before. Most of the books about the Krays have dealt with their lives before they were convicted, so it was very welcome and a breath of fresh air.

The only (slight) criticism that I have of the book is that it doesn't flow very well and does tend to jump around quite often. I was never really sure at what stage of their prison sentences some of the events and conversation snippets in the book took place. However, it was still a change to read a book about their time spent in prison and it was lovely to read a "different" Krays book that wasn't really about their crimes. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and it was a riveting read. I recommend it to anyone interested in the Kray twins who wants to read a book about a part of their lives that hasn't really been discussed in much depth (their prison sentences). This book does just that. It's one of the best Krays book that I have ever read.

[Erik Surewaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of the story was focussed on the life of the Krays outside of prison. To then say in the title that this describes the ‘prison years’, is just trying to fool the reader.

The storyline is a combination of a lot of short stories / topics with no direct relationship. I also get the impression that a lot of these topics are taken from other books and movies. For instance... I just read the book from Norman Parker, and certain parts of this book were included in this book. The author even used the name of Norman Parker several times. He also referenced quite regularly to Bobby Cummines. Coincidentally also someone that has written a book about his prison years.

Honestly, this book is not really a prison story. I however just watched the movie “Legend” and was very impressed by this movie. I also was impressed by the story of the Krays in this book, but if I had to choose again, I would have chosen another book then this one.

As a book on the ‘prison years’, this book deserves two stars... I however still was impressed about the ongoings of the Krays themselves, which I give four stars. Combined I give it three stars.

[Tayla Coull · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the book was very good at explaining the Krays overall way of life in Prison. However i found the book to be repetitive. I have read around 5 books on the Krays so it may just be for that reason i found that i was reading the same sort of story over with a little bit more detail around their prison years. Good book if you want to learn more about them and there life inside. But if you are like me and have read books about them before, there isn't any need too. Covers the majority of what is already is other books like the 'Profession Of Violence'

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this one after having read the Krays own story and was hoping to get a more balanced view of the famous gangsters. Shouldn't have bothered. I didn't find it well written, felt that most of the information within the book had been gleaned from elsewhere rather than the authors having done any real research or interviews themselves. It was difficult to read and follow and lacked structure. considered giving up a few times but made myself stick with it. It wasn't that informative and well, I just didn't enjoy it.

[James Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was an excellent book, even if quite a bit more was put on the people that knew the Krays rather than from the personal profiles of the Krays themselves.

It describes life behind bars of two of Britain's most notorious criminals and their elder brother Charlie jnr, who himself died behind bars.

I have read plenty of Krays literature and this book is up there amongst the best of them.

[Linda Heggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

True crime has always held an interest for me and The Krays is one such story. It was interesting to read and get a glance into their prison world. I found the writing on the simple side but quite enjoyed the journey,

[Kiran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been intrigued by the Krays ever since watching Legend and this book fed that intrigue very well.

It gave a glimpse into their later years and I learnt a lot about them that I didn’t know before.

Highly recommend.

What an interesting pair.

[Brb_busyreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I had only knew about the krays from the legend film and was quite intrigued so had to read this. I learnt a lot of things about them and lover hearing how their world was so different to ours

[Sharon Zanin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Really enjoyed reading this book.

[Donna Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok but would not read again

[George Ilsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm marking this as read although I haven't finished it. Seems more like a summary than an actual book. I've found it incredibly boring. I'm sure it's just me.

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 1 out of 5]

Comfortably the worst book I’ve read this year. I probably wouldn’t have left this terrible review if they were still alive.

[Amy Louise Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It provides a look into their life behind bars that most people, unless avid Kray fans, wouldn't know. I'd recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Krays.

[Kathryn Dixon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish this one, found it a really hard read and jumped all over the place. I did find out a few interesting facts and stories hence why I didn’t give it 1 star

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, but the jumpy structure did lose me a few times.

[Kristopher Cyrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

They got up to some stuff in jail but what did they do and didt put in the books

[Vicky Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book, giving the history of the Kray twins.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned much more about the krays from reading this book is madness they made more I’m
Prison than out.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I know a lot about the Krays and gangster life in London and this reflected it well. It was an easy read and quite page turning! Made you want to read it

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

you will trot along down to the bank, and you will fetch me my fifty thousand pounds

[Matt Gale · Rating 2 out of 5]

same old same. If you've read any if their autobiographies or books from members of the firm or people who have been in prison with them then youndont learn anything new!