Although there exist a number of studies on prison writing from various countries, Sentences is the first comprehensive examination of autobiographical prison literature from Italy. Klopp has assembled a gallery of fascinating portraits in this chronological survey of prison writings by more than three dozen Italian political figures and intellectuals - including Cellini, Casanova, Tasso, the Martyrs of Mantua, Enrichetta Caracciolo, Gramsci - all of whom were imprisoned for their political convictions. Drawing on prison writings from periods that include the Renaissance, the...