Porridge and Passion - Annotated by Jonathan Aitken (Paperback)

About the Book

Emerging from Bellmarsh Prison, with nothing but a black plastic sack of clothes, the author recounts how he was accepted at Wycliffe Hall Oxford to read theology and how this reconditioned his mind as well as his soul. This sequel to his first volume of autobiography ( Pride and Perjury ), starts his story as he is taken down from the courtroom.

Book Synopsis

In this sequel to his first volume of autobiography Pride and Perjury, Aitken starts his story as he is taken down from the courtroom and incarcerated at Her Majesty's Pleasure. How this Old Etonian former Cabinet Minister on Mrs Thatcher's inner circle managed to establish new relationships and lasting friendships with fellow prisoners is fascinating - so too is this account of how religious belief transformed his life. Aitken has lost none of his charm, fluency and determination - and he has found an authentic new life which readers of this entertaining new book will be able to judge for themselves.

'A rich collection of humorous tales of prison life... Aitken seems to have found a new vocation of both a funny writer and a serious prison reformer.' Tablet

Review Quotes

"a very refreshing read, and it is a superb testimony to what God can do in a life surrendered to Him" --Keswick Convention Handbook

"MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Aitken's earlier volumes of memoirs, Pride and Perjury, which he completed a few days before entering prison, chronicled his fall from grace. It was more muddled in its intent, veering uneasily between abject penitence and furious self-righteousness. Here in this second volume, his state of mind, and therefore the tone of the book, are both clearer.'" --Blurb from reviewer

About the Author

Jonathan Aitken, a former MP and cabinet minister, is the author of 12 books, including his award-winning biography of President Richard Nixon. His recent titles published by Continuum include Pride and Perjury, Psalms for People under Pressure, Prayers for People under Pressure, Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed, Heroes and Contemporaries and Nazarbayev and the Making of Kazakhstan.