This is not a joke but a true, L&D related,  fact.

In 1840s/50s Britain a common punishment for criminals was transportation for life with a jail sentence thrown in for good measure.

The holding 'area' prior to actually embarking for Tasmania, was a series of 'hulks'; former warships anchored around London, Dover and Portsmouth and used as floating prisons.

Even in those days the hulk (formerly HMS) Defence had a library of over 1000 educational books for the convicts to access freely in order to improve themselves.

Interestingly, any book by Charles Dickens was banned!