ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses their role and impact, through the Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan Book Club books chosen by prison reading groups, and one book in particular. Virtual friends though they may be, Richard and Judy's seal of approval is not an incontestable imprimatur. In both cases, male hostility to the genre of sensational/sentimental fiction and male wariness of the literature of affect literature that has designs on their emotional lives has been lulled by the presence of the reading companion, whether real or virtual. Some members of prison reading groups are adventurous readers but the majority are like most of the population outside prison wary of experimenting, of reading genres they perceive as not for them. For the feats achieved by their Book Club in introducing and accompanying these readers on new journeys, Richard and Judy and their team should be warmly applauded.
