Prisoners: One Woman, Nine Men under Lock and Key Quiz

Answer: "The Prisoner of Chillon"

If you want to know about an unlucky family: this was one. The father burned on the stake, two sons killed in battle, another one is burned as well.

The surviving three sons (no daughters? I wonder and ponder!) are thrown in a dungeon. Only the eldest son, the prisoner of Chillon, survived this hell and lived to tell. His love for nature helped as well.
And after reading this poem at length, poetry seems to become my strength!

"The Prisoner of Chillon" is a narrative poem written in 1816 by Lord Byron. The poem contains 392 lines and was inspired by the fate of a Bernese man. Byron got the idea after taking a trip on Lac Geneva together with Percy Bysshe Shelley, which included a visit to the castle and the dungeons.

François Bonivard, the historical prisoner of Chillon, was incarcerated from 1532 to 1536 in Chillon castle. I didn't read about a burned father or any brothers. But what I learned is that he married four times and was regularly in debt. He also dabbled in politics, which gave him a lot of trouble with Charles III, Duke of Savoy. And led to him being imprisoned in Chillon Castle.

Chillon Castle is still standing on an island in Lake Geneva/Switzerland and can be visited.

Lord Byron carved his name on a pillar in the dungeon. Tourists have changed little over the times...

Answer: "The Count of Monte Cristo"

It was the year 1815, shortly before Napoleon returned from Elba to France. Edmond Dantès, a hopeful young captain from Marseille, was arrested on his wedding day as a Napoleonist. He was innocent, but false friends wanted him away. And took the most efficient method they could think of.

After 14 years on the prison island Château d'If, he escaped with the help of a friend he had made. Luckily this friend knew also of a treasure. Such friends are rare, I guess we agree about that.
With this money he could return home to Marseille and start his revenge under the assumed name of Count of Monte Cristo (among other aliases). I won't tell you all. If you read it, you know it. If you didn't, I don't want to spoil the fun.

Alexandre Dumas, père released the book in 1844. The story was inspired by the acts of Pierre Picaud, who in 1807 was arrested on false accusations and took a gruesome revenge when he got free years later. His methods were worse compared to those of Edmond, who wasn't squeamish at all.

Château d'If is in the Mediterranean ocean, not far away from Marseille.
You can visit it, it is open to public.

Answer: "The Prisoner of Zenda"

Poor Rudolf of Ruritania! His own brother had him drugged and imprisoned in Zenda castle before he was even crowned. Luckily for him, his distant English cousin Rudolf Rassendyll stepped in, saved the coronation and even freed him. Alas, the English Rudolf only got the thanks of the crown, and not the beautiful Flavia, whom he had fallen in love with in this short time. She chose duty above love. Women were that foolish at these times!

Anthony Hope had this book released in 1894, one of many he wrote.

As the exact location of Ruritania and Zenda are unknown, my only advise is to do a nice trip to the Balkans. There are enough beautiful places to visit.

Answer: "St. Ives"

And here is the title in its complete length:
"St. Ives: Being The Adventures of a French Prisoner in England."
Vicomte Anne de Keroual de St. Ives, a member of the French army, was arrested in 1813 and imprisoned in Edinburgh castle in Scotland as a prisoner of war. The prisoners were allowed contact to the locals. In case of Anne to a lass named Flora. She dropped a hankie. Yes, this method worked in olden times! He escaped, and after many turbulent adventures a happy end for the young man. He deserved it!

The book was released in 1897. Robert Louis Stevenson had died in 1894, the novel still unfinished. Arthur Quiller-Couch was given the notes by Stevenson's heirs and finished it.

Edinburgh Castle was really a prison in the past and prisoners of the Napoleon war were accommodated there. As Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850, just a few decades after this, he could use his local knowledge. And a visit to Edinburgh, with or without the castle, is advised. I've been there, a wonderful town.

Answer: "A Prisoner of Morro"

The year is 1898 at the time of the Spanish-American war.
Clif Faraday is a naval cadet on a gunboat which is taking part in the US naval blockade of Cuba. After some adventures in the military style, he is captured and ends up in a Cuban prison called Morro. A prison with a bad reputation, and some real bad boys in charge. But he survives every hardship and ends up a free man.

Upton Sinclair released this novel under the pseudonym Clark Fitch in 1898. He made quite a living out of the so-called dime novels, and heroic American cadets and vicious opponents were well-received. After all: if you had a dreary life in shifting beef halves in Chicago, you wanted to dream of adventures.

Morro Castle - Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro - is a fortress you may still find in Havana Bay in Havana, Cuba.

Answer: "Arsene Lupin in Prison "

Ah, who else than the great, the unique gentleman thief Arsene Lupin would commit a crime while imprisoned? Mind you, no blood was shed, it was done with style. A theft, but ingeniously done.

"Arsene Lupin in Prison" was released in "Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar" on 10 June 1907, authored by Maurice Leblanc. It was a collection of stories. The first story was "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin" ("L'Arrestation d'Arsène Lupin"), the second "Arsène Lupin in Prison" ("Arsène Lupin en prison"), and then (what else?)" The Escape of Arsène Lupin" ("L'Évasion d'Arsène Lupin"), followed by some more stories. Just like his non-criminal rival Holmes, these adventures were first released in a magazine, a French one, what else? After all M. Lupin might have been a criminal, but a patriotic one!

The prison Lupin lived in for a short time is "Prison de la Sante". Or, in French "Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or Prison de la Santé". It is in Paris -Montparnasse. It was once a hospital, but a prison since the French revolution. They had more need for prisons than hospitals. While there were executions in the bad old days, it is nowadays the last prison inside Paris. And I honestly hope you will never be asked to visit it.

Answer: "Saint Joan"

If you wondered about the one female prisoner in the quiz's title: here she is at last. As there are more men than women in prison in real life, it is also the case in literature. And for once I don't mind the lack of equality....

Poor Jeanne. After helping the dauphin to win his crown, she was dropped like a hot croissant, when captured. Standing trial she didn't have a chance. And considering the prisons of 15th century France, she was right, rather wish to die than live!

Saint Joan is a play which had its premiere in 1923, just three years after Jeanne D'Arc's canonization. I guess you heard of her life story? Born in 1412 as a peasant girl, she had religious visions as a teenager, led the French army to victory, had the dauphin crowned and was burned on the stake. Just 19 years old. George Bernard Shaw described his play as "A Chronicle Play in 6 Scenes and an Epilogue".

Rouen Castle (Château Bouvreuil) in Normandy, France was demolished in the 16th century. There is a "Tour Jeanne d'Arc" - Joan of Arc tower, if my French serves me well - where one session of the trial took place.

Answer: Ivan in "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"

Ivan Denisovich Shukhov committed the crime of being a prisoner of war to the Germans in WWII. This was enough to condemn him as a spy, and sentence him to life in a Gulag, the soviet version of a working camp. The story tells of one typical day in that camp: waking up ill, having to work hard under harsh conditions, looking forward to a meager provision, and the interaction with other men, prisoners and superiors.

"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" was released in 1962 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. He had firsthand experience, being imprisoned in the Gulag system from 1945 to 1953. Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary in the USSR in 1962, allowed the book to be released, with some censorship. But it was still astonishing, that a Gulag story could be released at all.

The Gulag Karlag in this story is somewhere near Karaganda or Qaraghandy, which is a town in Kazakhstan. You can visit the "Dolinka Museum for the Commemoration of Victims of Political Repression" if you want more information.

Answer: "Papillon"

Henri Charrière -"Papillon" - was a French crook arrested and convicted of murdering a pimp in 1931. He denied this murder. In 1933, he was transported to the French penal colony in New Guinea. In "Papillon" he tells about the harsh living conditions, and many escapes he supposed to have attempted from there. He even fled from the infamous Devil's Island.

"Papillon" was released in 1970. Henri Charrière claimed that 75% of the story was true. Others, including French authorities and other prisoners, expressed serious doubts about this, including that he was never kept on Devil's island at all, and parts of the story were adventures of other prisoners.

Devil's island is now a place open to tourists, and the accommodation has much improved since the time of Papillon. Leaving, for example, is much easier nowadays.

Answer: "The Prisoner of Azkaban"

Sirius Black, a good friend of Harry's late parents and his godfather, was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit (that's something a lot of prisoners claim) and somehow escaped the horrific prison island of Azkaban. His aim is to find and fight that rat who framed him. Will he succeed? And what about Harry?
If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will already know.

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was released as the third part of the saga in 1999 by J. K. Rowling. I suspect she was fascinated by the thought of inapproachable prison islands, like authors before her.

Azkaban is said to be a fortress on a remote island in the north sea. No muggles allowed there, no chance of visiting it.