Review: The Prisoner and The Writer
The Prisoner and the Writer by Heather Camlot, illustrated by Sophie Casson Groundwood Books, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Emily Roth Buy at Bookshop.org The Prisoner and the Writer recounts the famous Dreyfus Affair of late 19th century France, in which military officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of sharing confidential information with the Germans. After Dreyfus was sentenced to life in prison on an island, writer Emile Zola published a now-famous opinion piece in a French newspaper titled “J’Accuse…!” stating that Dreyfus' imprisonment was a blatant act of antisemitism. Although the two men never met, these events inextricably bind them together. The Prisoner and the Writer focuses more on the emotional journeys of Dreyfus and Zola, jumping right into the action of the story and weaving back and forth between their points of view to highlight the contrasts between their lives and their perspectives. Camlot's spare poetic verse does a remarkable job of gett...