Readers' panel: experiences of books in prison

From Othello to Oscar Wilde four readers explain why books mean so much to people in jail, and name the books that helped them to survive it

The ban on sending books to prisoners has been causing a big stir among publishers, authors and the public. While the condemnations of the changes introduced by justice secretary Chris Grayling continue to pour in, we turned to our readers to ask what books they would give to someone in prison, and we had some very touching and interesting responses from people talking from direct experience. We asked them to tell us more about literature and its relationship to incarceration, as well as the troubles they went to to get access to books during their time inside. Here are some of their stories:

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