Papillon (autobiography)

Papillon is a memoir by Henri Charrière. It was published in 1970, 25 years after the events of the book. It has been described as an autobiographical novel or a fictional novel by critics, but Charrière always maintained that the account was accurate and true. The book's title is Charrière's nickname, derived from a butterfly tattoo on his chest (papillon being the French word for butterfly).

Related Topics:
Memoir - Henri Charrière - 1970 - Autobiographical novel - Fictional novel - Butterfly - Tattoo - French

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The book accounts for a thirteen year period in Charrière's life (October 26, 1932 to October 18, 1945) from when he wrongly convicted of murder in France and sentenced to a life of hard labor in the French Guiana penal colony, to when he was released from a Venezuelan prison, free of French justice.

Related Topics:
October 26 - 1932 - October 18 - 1945 - France - French Guiana - Penal colony - Venezuelan

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As soon as Charrière boards the vessel bound for South America, he learns about the brutal life that prisoners must endure. Murders are not uncommon among convicts. Men were cut into by makeshift knives for their plan (a hollow, metal cylinder containing money that is lodged in the lower small intenstine). Charrière befriends a former banker convicted of fraud named Louis Dega. He agrees to protect Dega from those seeking to murder him for his money.

Related Topics:
South America - Lower small intenstine

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