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Papillon

Papillon

Author(s): Henri Charrière

Location(s): South America

Genre(s): Autobiography/Memoirs

Era(s): Second half 20th century

Location

Content

An immediate sensation upon its publication in 1969, Papillon is a vivid memoir of brutal penal colonies, daring prison breaks and heroic adventure on shark-infested seas.

Condemned for a murder he did not commit, Henri Charriere, nicknamed Papillon, was sent to the penal colony of French Guiana. Forty-two days after his arrival he made his first break for freedom, travelling a thousand gruelling miles in an open boat. He was recaptured and put into solitary confinement but his spirit remained untamed: over thirteen years he made nine incredible escapes, including from the notorious penal colony on Devil’s Island.

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Lead Review

Papillon was a cult. It is about the determination of one person trying to escape the French Penal System in South America. Determination is the keyword.

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