life is seldom if ever told. Who knows what the convict thinks, feels,
and suffers? Let a narrative be written from a convict’s point of view.
Let him tell how he committed the crime, how he was induced to do it,
how he felt when he was doing it, his motives and hopes, the account of
his arrest, what his lawyer said to him, his trial, condemnation, and
sentence. Then his long imprisonment. A convict who is a good talker
could easily give you material which you could skillfully work up into
an attractive book, as novel as it would be interesting. Much of the
success of “Les Miserables” was due to the vivid portrayal of the
sufferings of Jean Valjean.