The Governor: My Life Inside Britain’s Most Notorious Prisons
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- Create Date：2021-06-22 07:15:57
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Vanessa Frake
- ISBN：0008390053
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Summary
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
As seen on This Morning
Back in the day， I was Governor of Security and Operations for HMP Wormwood Scrubs。 If you’re easily shocked or offended， you best look away now…
Having worked for 16 years in a high-security women’s prison dealing with the likes of Rosemary West and Myra Hindley， Vanessa Frake thought she’d seen it all。 That was until she was transferred to the notorious Wormwood Scrubs。
Thrust into a ‘man’s world’， her no-nonsense approach and fearless attitude saw her swiftly rise through the ranks。 From dealing with celebrity criminals and busting drug rings， to recruiting informers and being subject to violent attacks， this hard-hitting but often humorous memoir reveals all about life behind bars in unflinching detail。
Now， for one last time， The Gov opens the prison gates。 Prepare for the madness and horror of daily life with the UK’s most ruthless criminals。
As seen on This Morning
Back in the day， I was Governor of Security and Operations for HMP Wormwood Scrubs。 If you’re easily shocked or offended， you best look away now…
Having worked for 16 years in a high-security women’s prison dealing with the likes of Rosemary West and Myra Hindley， Vanessa Frake thought she’d seen it all。 That was until she was transferred to the notorious Wormwood Scrubs。
Thrust into a ‘man’s world’， her no-nonsense approach and fearless attitude saw her swiftly rise through the ranks。 From dealing with celebrity criminals and busting drug rings， to recruiting informers and being subject to violent attacks， this hard-hitting but often humorous memoir reveals all about life behind bars in unflinching detail。
Now， for one last time， The Gov opens the prison gates。 Prepare for the madness and horror of daily life with the UK’s most ruthless criminals。
Reviews
Sasha Pearce
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I found this fascinating and insightful and very readable。 Whilst I had some awareness of what prison life is like， I did learn quite a lot more from this book。 Prisoners' ability to improvise weapons and use them on others was a bit shocking。 Also， whilst I knew that drugs somehow do manage to find their way in， I didn't realise that mobile phones are also frequently smuggled in （though with hindsight this does make sense）， and I now understand much better how this can even be possible。 Great i I found this fascinating and insightful and very readable。 Whilst I had some awareness of what prison life is like， I did learn quite a lot more from this book。 Prisoners' ability to improvise weapons and use them on others was a bit shocking。 Also， whilst I knew that drugs somehow do manage to find their way in， I didn't realise that mobile phones are also frequently smuggled in （though with hindsight this does make sense）， and I now understand much better how this can even be possible。 Great ingenuity is applied by inmates and their contacts outside the prison， and also by the prison service to counteract these attempts。 Worth reading。 。。。more
Petra X's grass is 5' tall。$250 to cut it。
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This is very good， probably a 5 star， but。。。。 with reservations。 The author writes well but。。。 a couple of things have left a bad taste in my mouth。 "Wealthy Jews" and "addicts made their choice"。 Sometimes society's prejudices are so ingrained that although the book has obviously had an editor with an eye to the present woke agenda， they just aren't noticed。 Or they don't matter because certain kinds of prejudice are absolutely acceptable。 Unless of course you are in that group or your boyfrien This is very good， probably a 5 star， but。。。。 with reservations。 The author writes well but。。。 a couple of things have left a bad taste in my mouth。 "Wealthy Jews" and "addicts made their choice"。 Sometimes society's prejudices are so ingrained that although the book has obviously had an editor with an eye to the present woke agenda， they just aren't noticed。 Or they don't matter because certain kinds of prejudice are absolutely acceptable。 Unless of course you are in that group or your boyfriend's son and the sons， daughters and friends of many GR people who commented， Killing Season: A Paramedic's Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic are in one of them， and then your heart sinks。 It's ok to write about treatment but it's plain she doesn't understand but is kind of a， not really narrow-minded but she does tend to think she's always right or her intuition is （and says so frequently） and so perhaps the sort of person who would not really be receptive to changing her views no matter what people， experts in the field， said。 That said， I have to admire the author in many ways for what she did although I don't agree with a lot of her prison policies at all。 But that's for the review， this is just 'notes on reading'。 。。。more
Beth
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So interesting to see a female's take on the prison system as females in the prison system have been the minority up until more recently。 So interesting to see a female's take on the prison system as females in the prison system have been the minority up until more recently。 。。。more
KEITH BENSON
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Quite a storyAutobiography books are very difficult to review as all the subjects vary immensely。 How ever this book portrayed a quite amazing lady with a backbone of steel ， who also had grit and determination。 The book led the reader behind the doors of an institution the majority of the population will never discover， if they are well behaved。 After reading this book and getting to know some of the unsavoury characters and their wayward habits。 I felt I got an appreciation of the difficulties Quite a storyAutobiography books are very difficult to review as all the subjects vary immensely。 How ever this book portrayed a quite amazing lady with a backbone of steel ， who also had grit and determination。 The book led the reader behind the doors of an institution the majority of the population will never discover， if they are well behaved。 After reading this book and getting to know some of the unsavoury characters and their wayward habits。 I felt I got an appreciation of the difficulties faced by all those who work behind those locked doors in the prison service。 。。。more
Mark
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Told in a chatty， almost ‘pally with the reader’ way this book was as expected， a huge insight into the world of prisons， mainly Holloway where her 27 year career starts and Wormwood Scrubs where it ends， along the way we discover/hear all about every aspect of her job and prison life and her dealings with the likes of Hindley and West amongst others， there is no doubting her love for the job and her commitment to it and the detail we are given is impressive and stories ranging from escapes to d Told in a chatty， almost ‘pally with the reader’ way this book was as expected， a huge insight into the world of prisons， mainly Holloway where her 27 year career starts and Wormwood Scrubs where it ends， along the way we discover/hear all about every aspect of her job and prison life and her dealings with the likes of Hindley and West amongst others， there is no doubting her love for the job and her commitment to it and the detail we are given is impressive and stories ranging from escapes to drug dealing inside， bent officers and political wranglings re the service keep you hooked and page turningI did find her narration slightly irritating at times， she obviously did very well in her career and is unshy of saying so and not afraid of telling you her many successes but then I told myself she has every right to be after what she has done/seen/endured and achieved， still at times it wears thinI refused to believe her faux squeamishness and farcical horror re anything to do with prisoners nether regions， be it medical or bringing mobiles/drugs in and it was overdone to the point of overkill （ running out of examinations， feeling sick， shuddering etc ） One thing， and I have thought hard about mentioning it， that I found odd was she had a time of PTSD after reading about a prisoners crime， it being so horrific it played on her mind so much， now I wont mention the crime but without warning she did， yes after reading a few words I and any other reader could then skim over the rest （ which I did ） but obviously I had already got the jist of the crime， it seemed odd to me that her reading about it had given her PTSD yet there it was being relayed to the reader who then could also suffer from reading it， hope that makes sense？， I am not a one for trigger warnings or being over sensitive but in this case maybe one was needed before these few paragraphs It all ended with a whimper tbh after her award from the Queen and I felt quite sorry for her the way she was treated after her allegiance to the service for almost 3 decades but she does seem happier now and working as a cake maker in a cafe in EssexDefinitely eye opening and without doubt memoirs that needed to be told， as much for the author as for us8/104 Stars 。。。more
Louise Mullins
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Absorbing and brilliantly written memoir by a kickass guv'nor My only gripe was her outdated views on addiction。 Many men and woman don't take drugs as much as they're forced on them as a method to abuse the individual。 Absorbing and brilliantly written memoir by a kickass guv'nor My only gripe was her outdated views on addiction。 Many men and woman don't take drugs as much as they're forced on them as a method to abuse the individual。 。。。more
Sandra
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Loved ThisI couldn’t wait to get to bed every night to carry on reading this。 Vanessa sounds like such an interesting likeable person。 I hope she is still happy xxx
Ally
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Very easy style of writing， very personable and interesting。 Would recommend it to anyone interested in what it’s like working in a Prison。
marjorie hall-venmore
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# The Governor # Netgalley I wasn’t too sure about this particular book， it wasn’t this particular book on its own。 It’s mainly people who have bribe certain jobs in life。 Do they write a nook that’s mot just amount the prison left for yourself to inherit。 Well it was a well written book and found。 It extremely interesting reading l。we haveAlso。 From how she described it， I don’t think。 It would be safe having been left long enough。 Being extra carful。 Today kB 。 They have the most amazing custo # The Governor # Netgalley I wasn’t too sure about this particular book， it wasn’t this particular book on its own。 It’s mainly people who have bribe certain jobs in life。 Do they write a nook that’s mot just amount the prison left for yourself to inherit。 Well it was a well written book and found。 It extremely interesting reading l。we haveAlso。 From how she described it， I don’t think。 It would be safe having been left long enough。 Being extra carful。 Today kB 。 They have the most amazing customer services I have ever had the pears goKgN 。。。more
Sarah
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Very interesting book delving into life in the prison service which has always fascinated me。 Hats off to the staff and everything they have to put up with。For me， the book started better than it ended， it grabbed my attention straight away but from around 3/4 of the way through it started getting repetitive and it jumps around all over the place。 I get why she wouldn't want to have written it chronologically but there didn't seem to be any logic to the order of the chapters。Such an achievement Very interesting book delving into life in the prison service which has always fascinated me。 Hats off to the staff and everything they have to put up with。For me， the book started better than it ended， it grabbed my attention straight away but from around 3/4 of the way through it started getting repetitive and it jumps around all over the place。 I get why she wouldn't want to have written it chronologically but there didn't seem to be any logic to the order of the chapters。Such an achievement for the author to receive an MBE for her services。 。。。more
Jacob Stelling
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Really enjoyed this book。 Different to what I would normally go for， but the conversational and engaging writing style， plus the extraordinary stories that the author was able to recount， made this a very enjoyable read。 Provides a fascinating insight into the work of the prison service and the issues facing it in the modern day。 Highly recommend。
Trina Dixon
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Vanessa Frake MBE worked in Britain's most notorious prisons， Holloway and Wormwood Scrubs。 This is her account of her activities and massive workload she and fellow prison officers have to deal with on a daily basis。 From the "celebrity " prisoners， the infamous ones and those that deserve to stay in prison for the rest of the lives。 Vanessa holds nothing back in this book。 A very interesting read。 Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest revie Vanessa Frake MBE worked in Britain's most notorious prisons， Holloway and Wormwood Scrubs。 This is her account of her activities and massive workload she and fellow prison officers have to deal with on a daily basis。 From the "celebrity " prisoners， the infamous ones and those that deserve to stay in prison for the rest of the lives。 Vanessa holds nothing back in this book。 A very interesting read。 Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。 My opinions are my own 。。。more
Heather
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Anecdotes from time inside London prisonsWith promotions and an OBE along the wayFollowed by staff + funding cuts and the cumulative emotional strain leading to early retirement， and the take up of a job in a bakery
✰matthew✰
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absolutely lapped this up， struggled to put it down and found everything so interesting。 it’s broken down into different events and time periods， which for me made it super accessible and enjoyable to read， even when reading about things that aren’t so nice。 we learn about vanessa frakes career and achievements but we also learn a lot about prison life and how the prison system works， which i found interesting too。 one of the most interesting and enjoyable non fiction reads i’ve had for a long t absolutely lapped this up， struggled to put it down and found everything so interesting。 it’s broken down into different events and time periods， which for me made it super accessible and enjoyable to read， even when reading about things that aren’t so nice。 we learn about vanessa frakes career and achievements but we also learn a lot about prison life and how the prison system works， which i found interesting too。 one of the most interesting and enjoyable non fiction reads i’ve had for a long time ！！ps。 the warning of looking away if easilyshocked or offended is real， nothing is sugarcoated。 。。。more
Kim
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What an interesting book。 It was a day to day life of a woman prisoner officer first in Holloway women's prison， then Wormwood scrubs。In her working career， she has come across， Myra Hindley， and Rose West also The Krays and the Yorkshire Ripper， among many。She worked her way up to be governor for Security and operations。 Eventually being quite rightly so an MBE。We read that the prison world is not only full of scumbags who would sell your granny for a song or stab you in the back if you look a What an interesting book。 It was a day to day life of a woman prisoner officer first in Holloway women's prison， then Wormwood scrubs。In her working career， she has come across， Myra Hindley， and Rose West also The Krays and the Yorkshire Ripper， among many。She worked her way up to be governor for Security and operations。 Eventually being quite rightly so an MBE。We read that the prison world is not only full of scumbags who would sell your granny for a song or stab you in the back if you look at them the wrong way but also it is rife with mental illness。 At times it is quite graphic。Vanessa writes a believable and interesting book and insight into the daily living in the prison fraternity。There is violence around every corner and drugs riding rampant， from being thrown over the walls in the stomach of dead pigeons to officer sneaking them into visitors with them hidden up their jacksy as well as mobile phones！！！Such a brilliant account。 and very addictive。 。。。more
Lucy
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I am trying to find the words that would do this justice， （no pun intended） but I am not sure I am going to be able too， so I will just have to say this is exceptional memoir of Vanessa Frake， MBE， and her career within the prison service。 This is both entertaining and enlightening， with a behind the scenes account of the forgotten public service， and the work that is carried out on a daily basis， including the risks that are undertaken by simply walking through the gates。 As I assumed， this is I am trying to find the words that would do this justice， （no pun intended） but I am not sure I am going to be able too， so I will just have to say this is exceptional memoir of Vanessa Frake， MBE， and her career within the prison service。 This is both entertaining and enlightening， with a behind the scenes account of the forgotten public service， and the work that is carried out on a daily basis， including the risks that are undertaken by simply walking through the gates。 As I assumed， this is full of unforgettable individuals， and Vanessa has been able to bring humour into various serious issues throughout。 It never ceases to amaze me how the human body allows high amounts of contraband to be concealed within prisoners。 （The vivid images of Phones-4-You and the fake solicitor will stay with me for some time！）This was an easy five star review for me， as I flew through it， my greed for more making me pick this up at every opportunity。 This is an ideal read/listen for any one interested in the Prison Service， and/or those that are curious about what really happens behind these solid walls。 A monument of nonfiction and after reading this， I have nothing for admiration for anyone who chooses this as a profession。 This was a MBE that Vanessa well and truly deserved！ 。。。more
Amy Platt
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One of the best books on prison I’ve read。 If you’re a true crime fan read this book！
Beth Escott
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An interesting read but repetitive at times and doesn't really go into much detail。 An interesting read but repetitive at times and doesn't really go into much detail。 。。。more
Hilary Crawford
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Well worth the read。
Danielle Nichol
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Such a great read， and a true insight into the real life of a prison officer！
Marc Clegg
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Brilliant insightWow！！ What a read ，I read this in one sitting as couldn't put it down！！ I loved hearing all bout her life thru the prison service and her private and personal life！ A really good insight to prisons， 。。。。from the side of an officer I feel I have more understanding now as only been on other side of the door， but I take my hats of to them they do an amazing job ，or sounds like they did in venessa time as Cameron changed all that😡 highly recommend！ ❤️📖 Brilliant insightWow！！ What a read ，I read this in one sitting as couldn't put it down！！ I loved hearing all bout her life thru the prison service and her private and personal life！ A really good insight to prisons， 。。。。from the side of an officer I feel I have more understanding now as only been on other side of the door， but I take my hats of to them they do an amazing job ，or sounds like they did in venessa time as Cameron changed all that😡 highly recommend！ ❤️📖 。。。more
Jane Dunk
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Amazing storyWhat a story！ I found this book to be really interesting and absorbing。 Even better as its all true。I definitely recommend this 。
Melanie Lindsay
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Bloody fantastic right from the start！A page turner right from the beginning。 What a remarkable achievement。 I bought this book at a reduced price but， I'd have happily paid a good amount for it。 Bloody fantastic right from the start！A page turner right from the beginning。 What a remarkable achievement。 I bought this book at a reduced price but， I'd have happily paid a good amount for it。 。。。more
Joanne Dickinson
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Interesting and a brilliant read 。 Love all the stories about the criminals and the bent police women getting what she deserves。
Adrian Lovell
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Not so much a review。 But a thank you for a riveting read。 Vanessa; your book was a cathartic journey for me。 Like you my job was everything to me。 Needless to say I never experienced the inhumanity of humanity that you did。 But I did make a difference。 Like you I was also bumped。 Being a man of certain years you managed to have a tear roll down my face。 I have now found peace and no regrets。 Thank you for such a well thought out structured read。 We are just numbers to the bosses， but we know we Not so much a review。 But a thank you for a riveting read。 Vanessa; your book was a cathartic journey for me。 Like you my job was everything to me。 Needless to say I never experienced the inhumanity of humanity that you did。 But I did make a difference。 Like you I was also bumped。 Being a man of certain years you managed to have a tear roll down my face。 I have now found peace and no regrets。 Thank you for such a well thought out structured read。 We are just numbers to the bosses， but we know we made a difference。 Good luck with everything you do。 May you future be bright and joyous。 。。。more
miss k l hamilton
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Wow。。 eye opener！Very well written and such an interesting eye opening read。 Vanessa you're one hell of a woman！ Ps can I have some cheese scones？ Wow。。 eye opener！Very well written and such an interesting eye opening read。 Vanessa you're one hell of a woman！ Ps can I have some cheese scones？ 。。。more
Lisa-Jaine
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Interesting and down to earth
Cris Hope
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FabulousAs I former prison officer I thought i would just have a look at this。 It is well written and to be honest I couldn't put it down。 It brought back so many memories and it's been a brilliant book to read。 For anyone that doesn't know anything about the prison service it's very insightful。 FabulousAs I former prison officer I thought i would just have a look at this。 It is well written and to be honest I couldn't put it down。 It brought back so many memories and it's been a brilliant book to read。 For anyone that doesn't know anything about the prison service it's very insightful。 。。。more
Jo Taylor
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BrilliantRead this book in a day ， loved the way it has he written， the truth behind the prison system by an amazing lady
Debbie Smith
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