In 1834 Stephen F Austin was arrested by the Mexican government and held prisoner for three years in the capital city. Initially, he was held incommunicado in a cell in the building which had formerly held prisoners of the Spanish Inquisition. Denied books or anyone to talk to, he turned to writing out his thoughts in a small notebook. Austin variously railed against the Catholic Church, outlined plans for a “modernized” Mexico, and reflected on what he perceived as mankind’s and his own mistakes and character faults.

I read Stephen Austin’s Prison Diary for the 69th volume of the Short Nonfiction Collection. You can listen to my recording here. You can read the prison diary here.