Solitary Confinement

<p>Parachuted into France as a British secret agent, Christopher Burney was arrested by the Gestapo and thrown into a solitary confinement cell in a prison outside Paris. There he spent 526 days in complete isolation. With little human contact and nothing to distract him, Burney developed a mental and spiritual regime that enabled him not just to survive but to develop an internal resilience that enabled him to survive his subsequent time in Buchenwald concentration camp.</p><p>Out of print for over 40 years and virtually unknown outside the U.K., <em>Solitary Confinement</em> has quietly developed a reputation as a modern masterpiece of contemplative literature. As the critic Frank Kermode wrote, “The courage and the intellectual integrity Christopher Burney are far beyond what most of us would expect of ourselves.”</p><p>“Readers who are genuinely inquisitive about their own souls and about the prospect for our species should read <em>Solitary Confinement</em>.” — Rebecca West</p>