The article presents a review on Vasil’eva S.A. monograph ““I was in prison and you came to visit me...”: the history of the origin of prison service practice in the Protestant tradition and its influence on the course of prison reform in America, Europe and Russia» given by Nesterova Olga Ivanovna, DSc (History), senior inspector on special assignments of the division of penal legislation, planning and conducting of official inspections of the Legal Department in the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. The monograph is devoted to the origin and development of prison service practice in the Protestant tradition and its impact on prison reforms in Europe and America in the XIX century. Through the prism of prison philanthropy societies formation and the Institute of prison chaplains formation in the United Kingdom and the United States, the author explored theological, legal and practical aspects of prison service in the Protestant tradition. Turning to the history of Christian missionaries, who acted long before the penal reforms of the XIX century, the author rethinks the theoretical and methodological content of English penological doctrines. British penitentiary ideology and American practice were extrapolated in the XIX century to all European countries, marking the beginning of the creation of national penitentiary systems in Europe and the Russian Empire. The work analyzes the materials that have not previously been introduced into scientific circulation and not translated into Russian. The monographic study is recommended to historians, theologians, lawyers, specialists in the field of penology, students and graduate students of the Humanities, as well as anyone interested in the history of penitentiary reforms and problems of social history in general.