The Prison Experience

Though the prison is central to the penal system of most modern nations, many believe that imprisonment did not become a major judicial sanction until the nineteenth century. In this readable history, Spierenburg traces the evolution of the prison during the early modern period and illustrates the important role it has played as both disciplinary institution and penal option from the late sixteenth century onward. Placing particular emphasis on the prisons of the Netherlands, Germany, and France