Quiller buys prison memoir of NatWest Three member Darby

Quiller has bought the memoir of former British banker Giles Darby, one of the NatWest Three who was jailed in the US for his involvement in a $7m fraud.

Andrew Johnston, Quiller m.d., acquired world rights from Tom Cull at Cull & Co for Inside Allenwood: The Story of a British Banker in a US Prison—Money, Mobsters and Enron. It will be published as a hardback in July 2020.

Darby and his co-defendants, David Bermingham and Gary Mulgrew, became the subject of extensive media coverage in 2002 when the US government demanded their extradition in relation to the collapse of the energy giant Enron. After almost 10 years fighting their extradition, the NatWest Three eventually reached a plea deal with prosecutors to serve 37 months in prison each as restitution for one count of "wire fraud". 

The synopsis explains: “Giles served part of his sentence in Allenwood prison, Pennsylvania, and was then allowed to return to the UK to finish his time. In stark contrast to the luxurious life of a high-flying banker, Giles was forced to adapt quickly in order to keep his health and sanity intact and passed the time by writing letters to his family back in the UK which detailed the daily events of the prison: the drudgery of lockdowns, the dangers of routine violence and the agony of being separated from everyone he loved. But alongside the horror stories about gang beatings and brutality, Giles also wrote about the charismatic characters he met and the unexpected antics the inmates got up to.”

Johnston said: “Many of us are fascinated by the prospect of prison life, and Giles’ letters are full of insights which the ordinary reader is likely to find utterly captivating. Inside Allenwood is based on Giles’ original letters home—at once deeply personal but also revealing the unbelievable events that led to his incarceration and the true story about an ordinary British businessman learning to survive in prison, surrounded by criminals and cut off from the real world.”