The Don
The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An in-depth exploration of the Don Jail from its inception through jailbreaks and overcrowding to its eventual shuttering and rebirth.
Conceived as a “palace for prisoners,” the Don Jail never lived up to its promise. Although based on progressive nineteenth-century penal reform and architectural principles, the institution quickly deteriorated into a place of infamy where both inmates and staff were in constant danger of violence and death. Its mid-twentieth-century replacement, the New Don, soon became equally tainted.
Along with investigating the origins and evolution of Toronto’s infamous jail, The Don presents a kaleidoscope of memorable characters — inmates, guards, governors, murderous gangs, meddlesome politicians, harried architects, and even a pair of star-crossed lovers whose doomed romance unfolded in the shadow of the gallows.
This is the story of the Don’s tumultuous descent from palace to hellhole, its shuttering and lapse into decay, and its astonishing modern-day metamorphosis.
Speaker's Book Award 2021 — Shortlisted | Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book 2022 — Shortlisted
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Prepare yourself for a look at Toronto’s history from a challenging new perspective: that of the city’s most notorious jail. Originally constructed in the mid-19th century during an era of penal reform, the massive structure on the banks of the Don River was initially praised for its clean, healthy atmosphere. But before long, the air was clouded with the smoke from nearby factories—and the once supposedly progressive jail had become overcrowded and filthy. We were both horrified and fascinated by the stories of the Don’s quick descent into violence, cruelty, and infamy. Journalist Lorna Poplak draws from a variety of historical sources, including firsthand accounts of real inmates, to construct an absolutely riveting picture of 19th-century Toronto’s concept of criminal justice. Much like Erik Larson’s best-selling examination of the Chicago World’s Fair, The Devil in the White City, The Don explores its subject matter from a variety of angles, incorporating the stories of idealistic architects and rival politicians, brutal gang warfare, and a tragically romantic jailbreak. It all adds up to a fascinating snapshot of how a city’s best intentions can sometimes go horribly wrong.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Poplak (Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada) delivers a brisk study of Toronto's Don Jail from its origins as a progressive-minded reformatory in the late 19th century to its reputation as Ontario's "Black Hole of Calcutta" in the 20th century and reopening as a rehabilitation hospital in 2013. Poplak contends that the shift from an ethos of reform to one of punishment in the early 1900s helped to remake the prison's culture for the worse. He profiles inmates, guards, and prison officials, including George Headley Basher, a "very strict disciplinarian" who oversaw the Don from 1919 to 1931 and viewed corporal punishment (he preferred to call it "spanking") as "the only way to control violent and defiant prisoners." Poplak also details numerous escape attempts, riots, and executions, and tracks the deterioration of conditions due to overcrowding. Inquests and grand jury investigations into repeated incidents of brutality became de rigueur at the Don, but the original jail remained in use until 1977, when penal reforms across Canada (which included an abolition of the death penalty) led to its closure. (An east wing built in the 1950s continued to house prisoners until 2013). Poplak's blow-by-blow account drags in places, but she is a dogged researcher with an eye for telling details. Canadian history buffs will savor the arcane criminal lore gathered here.
