'I first met Robert Allerton in prison, where he was captive and I was not... He was a powerful broad-shouldered Cockney [who] had spent his childhood in poverty and much of his manhood in prison; and he had a long record of violent crime.' Tony Parker, from his Introduction
Tony Parker's first book The Courage of His Convictions (1962), constructed out of his candid and illuminating dialogues with career criminal Robert Allerton (credited as co-author), is a stunning work that displays all the skills and virtues Parker would bring to his subsequent career as an 'oral historian' of the lives of society's marginal figures.
'This intimate autobiography is a revelation - it provides the first psychological insight into the mentality of that frightening, mysterious and pathetic product of our society, the professional criminal.' Arthur Koestler
- ISBN10 0571304249
- ISBN13 9780571304240
- Publish Date 18 July 2013 (first published 16 July 2013)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 16 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Faber & Faber
- Edition Main
- Format Paperback (UK Trade)
- Pages 194
- Language English