As you enjoy release from months of lockdown, and stretch out on a beach, spare a thought for those in prison, both voluntarily and otherwise. Most of us prefer not to think about it, but as Christians we’re not allowed the luxury of blissful ignorance: “I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”

In Unheard Voices: Reflections of a Prison Chaplain (Messenger Publications, £11.95; Tablet price £10.75), the formidably gentle Imelda Wickham brings a degree of compassion and generosity to our view of prisoners that feels hard to live up to. It’s difficult not to feel scepticism when she claims, “I have never encountered an evil person … just people who carried out evil deeds”, but there’s a revelation and boldness in the sentiment that animates this short, painful but uplifting account of prison chaplaincy in Ireland, and her call for drastic prison reform.