author
Wellington Scott
A firsthand prison memoir from the early 20th century gives this writer a striking place in American true-crime literature. The voice behind the book traces a hard fall into crime, years behind bars, and a determined turn toward reform.
1 Audiobook
Seventeen Years in the Underworld
by Wellington Scott
About the author
Wellington Scott is the author of Seventeen Years in the Underworld, first published in 1916. The book presents itself as an autobiographical account of his early life, descent into crime, long experience in prisons and reform institutions, and eventual reformation.
The surviving record available here is quite thin, and reliable biographical details beyond the book itself are hard to confirm. What can be said with confidence is that Scott wrote from close personal experience and framed his story not just as confession, but as an argument for better understanding of prisoners, rehabilitation, and the difficulties faced by people leaving prison.
The book also includes an introduction by Lynn Harold Hough, who describes Scott as a friend and portrays him as someone who had lived for years as a social outcast before building a steadier home life. Because so little verified personal information is readily available, Scott remains a somewhat shadowy figure today, known chiefly through this candid and unusual memoir.