Oriental Prisons

Griffiths, Arthur, 1838-1908Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 386K words
Chapters: 39

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Oriental Prisons by Arthur GriffithsAuthor: Griffiths, Arthur, 1838-1908,Language: English, Class: HV: Social sciences: Social pathology, Social and Public Welfare, Release Date: Feb 18, 2017

Editor's review

Griffiths focuses on prison history and penal systems, and here turns his attention to prisons and confinement practices across the East. The book belongs to late nineteenth-century Western observational writing on foreign justice and imprisonment. Its value lies not in modern penological theory but in offering a sample of observation from a particular era: how the author describes space, administration, the condition of prisoners, and local customs, and how he judges them from the European perspective of his time. Readers should maintain a critical awareness of the source, distinguishing record from evaluation and noting possible biases and period limitations. The prose is highly readable, and most chapters stand alone, making the book useful as supplementary material for penal history, colonial-era social observation, or comparative East-West legal studies. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to excerpt for classroom discussion and suited to casual reading for those interested in prison history and the travel-observation genre.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in prison history, penal systems, and the social history of justice
Students studying nineteenth-century East-West observation and comparative writing
Those who need public-domain historical excerpts for classroom discussion or writing
General readers who enjoy travel observation and institutional reportage in nonfiction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern penological theory or systematic institutional analysis
Those who need rigorous contemporary source criticism and the latest research findings
Readers sensitive to period-biased depictions of foreign lands

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and preface first to clarify the author's scope and standpoint, then select chapters for close reading.
Use two-column notes while reading to separate factual description from the author's evaluation, for later critical use.
Choose chapters relevant to one's own country or neighboring regions for comparative reading, and avoid overgeneralizing.
If using the book for writing, cross-check other contemporary sources first and do not treat a single travel account as conclusive.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a rigorous study of prison systems?

It is not a systematic modern penological study but rather a late nineteenth-century author's observational account of prisons and confinement in various parts of the East. It offers period samples and eyewitness detail, but its theoretical framework and statistical methods are limited, so it should be used alongside other historical sources and contemporary research.

Can the descriptions in the book be taken as reliable historical fact?

They should not be taken directly as conclusive. The author observes from the perspective of his era and culture, and his records may include evaluations and biases. It is advisable to compare specific descriptions with other contemporary materials, distinguish verifiable facts from personal judgments, and then decide how to cite them.

Is it suitable for classroom use?

It is suitable as supplementary material. Most chapters stand alone, making it easy to excerpt passages for discussing how nineteenth-century Westerners viewed Eastern justice and imprisonment. Teachers should explain the period limitations in advance and guide students toward source criticism rather than treating the text as an objective panorama.

Will general readers find it dull?

Overall it is quite readable; eyewitness narrative is lighter than theoretical works, though some passages carry period tone and repetitive observation. Readers are advised to skip to chapters of interest rather than reading cover to cover; those with no interest in prison history may find the subject heavy.

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About the author

Griffiths, Arthur, 1838-1908 Author

Arthur Griffiths (1838–1908) was a British author with twenty works held in this collection. Public information about his life is limited, and biographical details are difficult to verify, but his subjects show a lasting interest in prisons and criminal history. His best-known work, Chronicles of Newgate, traces the history of that famous prison and its inmates in successive volumes, while Prisons Over Seas and Russian Prisons turn to penal conditions in other countries, reflecting a sustained concern with justice and punishment. He also wrote fiction, including The Rome Express and A Son of Mars, the former unfolding its plot aboard a train and the latter, published in volumes, coloured by adventure and soldierly life. His writing stands between historical reporting and popular narrative, well grounded and fluently told, and remains useful for the study of modern prison history and crime literature.