[Behan's] I.R.A. activities brought him at an absurdly early age to an English prison and a Borstal institution, gave him the makings of his best book ["Borstal Boy"], which either as autobiography or as part of the literature of penology has established itself as a classic, and inspired him for various reasons with a healthy respect and a liking for the English people. (p. 5)

For all previous sharp statements about the neighbours he made amends in the character of Leslie Williams, the hostage [in "The Hostage"], also a voice from a prison, an ordinary young English boy caught fatally and wonderingly in a situation he cannot hope to understand. Teresa, that sweet young country girl …, an orphan as the hostage is, tells him that Monsewer, the old mad owner of the house in which he is held, is an English nobleman: "he went to college with...