J’accuse Henri Charrière.
So, the other day I mentioned Papillon. Did you get the hint?
Oui, I recently spent a couple hours on Devil’s Island, the infamous French penal colony off the coast of French Guiana. Opened in 1852, it was finally closed in 1953. Considered ‘inescapable,’ it boasted a prisoner death rate of 75%. While general purpose criminals were sent there, it was a favorite place to send French political prisoners and was the involuntary home for several years of two famous Frenchmen: The alleged spy Captain Dreyfus (1859-1935) and the alleged murderer and best-selling author of Papillon, Henri Charrière (1906-1973).
According to Wikipedia: ‘The [Dreyfus Affair] scandal began in December 1894 with the treason conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young Alsatian French artillery officer of Jewish descent. Sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly communicating French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris, Dreyfus was [court-martialed and] imprisoned on Devil’s Island in French Guiana, where he spent nearly five years.’
‘J’accuse...!’ wrote Emile Zola, in an open letter to the president of the French Republic four years later, in 1898. The novelist accused the army of covering up its mistaken conviction of Dreyfus. Public outcry yielded a re-trial. Though found guilty a second time, Dreyfus was pardoned by the French president. In 1906, he was exonerated of all charges.
Zola, on the other hand, had been accused of libel due to the letter and, faced with a year in prison and a 3,000 franc fine, he fled to England. The prolific author of Germinal and Nana, among others, was a god among French writers. [Wiki] ‘Zola’s 1898 article is widely marked in France as the most prominent manifestation of the new power of the intellectuals (writers, artists, academicians) in shaping public opinion, the media and the state.’
Some shots of Devil’s Island: The view out to sea...
One of the better maintained buildings, now a modest museum.
The buildings the prisoners inhabited were in ruins.
The exterior of the hospital. I seriously doubt any prisoner was ever treated here — it was for the prison staff and their families. There was no guide — we were given a truly horrible map and let loose to stumble around the island. There were peacocks, capuchin monkeys and an orange-bellied rodent the size of a woodchuck.
What’s left of the interior of the hospital.
Now, why do j’accuse Henri Charrière? In 1969, my first trip to Paris, I was walking past Le Drugstore on Les Champs Elysées and the front of the store was crammed with stacks and stacks of Papillon. It was a huge hit in France and became a bestseller in the States. Also became a blockbuster movie with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. (There’s a remake, just out.)
You remember the ‘true’ story: Small time Parisian crook/pimp Henri (with his butterfly tattoo) is accused of murder, found guilty and sent to Devil’s Island. Horrific conditions. He decides to escape. And succeeds. Many adventures — and the book plus a sequel (Banco) — ensue.
Trouble is... Henri Charrière was never on Devil’s Island. He served time in a mainland prison in France. Though he claimed 75% of his book was true, others put the number at 10%. Events may have been true but they had happened to other prisoners and been told to Henri, who was eventually pardoned in 1970. But it certainly was a great read and a great movie! #
