A NEW book on the history of Winchester Prison and the stories of prisoners and staff has topped an old city bookshop’s bestseller list for this year.

Doing Time by Liz Kavanagh and Leonie Mountney, proved most popular for P&G Wells, with the insight into 175 years of Winchester Prison going behind the scenes to share the past and present stories of those inside.

Coming in second was Licoricia of Winchester – Rebecca Abrams’ biography of the 13th-century Jewish businesswoman who battled antisemitism to become the wealthiest Jewish woman in England. Her statue stands next to The Arc on Jewry Street.

READ MORE: Exhibition at Winchester University reveals life at Winchester Prison

And at number three was Gibbon’s Years, a memoir by Jock Macdonald. Jock, a former master at Winchester College and city councillor, compares the events of his lifetime to those of the second century AD, described by Edward Gibbon in his 18th century classic as “the time of greatest happiness and prosperity in the history of the world”.  

P&G Wells manager Steve Scholey said: “As Winchester’s independent bookshop, we are always pleased to support local authors, whose work may not be available elsewhere. We are delighted that as in previous years so many of our bestsellers are of local interest.”  

All books are available online at pgwells.co.uk, or in person at the shop in College Street.