Borstal Boy. London: Hutchinson, 1958. First Edition. Pp, 343. Frontispiece portrait of the author. Recently bound in full green morocco boards, gilt fillet boarder to upper & lower covers, red title label to spine, lettered in gilt. A fine bright copy, handsomely bound.

Behan’s beautifully written account of his three-year stretch in a juvenile detention centre in England. He was arrested in Liverpool when he was caught in 1939, at age 16, carrying a suitcase full of explosive devices. 

The book gives a good day-to-day accounting of life in these borstals, from meal times to religious services (surprisingly tailored to each prisoner’s beliefs). They also had available job opportunities. Many would work in the fields or pick fruit. Behan was able to get work as a painter because of an apprenticeship in Ireland. He became popular among many of the other worker prisoners.

Ideal gift copy.