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Since its opening in 1835, Kingston Penitentiary was designed to be escape-proof a stone fortress built to contain, control, and reform. Yet over its 178-year history, a small number of men and women still found ways to breach its walls.

Beyond the Wall brings together the most compelling escape stories from Canada’s oldest prison. Some were meticulously planned feats of ingenuity, others were desperate and violent, or seemingly spontaneous. Few ended in long term freedom. Most ended in swift capture or worse.

Drawing on official records, newspapers, eyewitness accounts, and inmate testimony, this book explores the escapes, and what happened after the walls were cleared, when the real struggle began. It is a human story of risk, hope, failure, and the enduring belief that freedom was worth almost any price.