Porridge and Passion

Book excerpt: 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