The Glass Cell

Synopsis

Rife with overtones of Dostoyevsky, The Glass Cell combines a quintessential Highsmith mystery with a penetrating critique of the psychological devastation wrought by the prison system. In 1961, Patricia Highsmith received a fan letter from a prison inmate. A correspondence ensued between author and inmate, and Highsmith became fascinated with the psychological traumas that incarceration can inflict. Based on a true story, The Glass Cell is Highsmith's deeply disturbing fictionalization of everything she learned.