Papillon (book)

Papillon
First edition (French)
AuthorHenri Charrière
TranslatorPatrick O'Brian
LanguageFrench
GenreAutobiographical novel
PublisherRobert Laffont (French)
Hart-Davis, MacGibbon (English)
Publication date
1969
Publication placeFrance
Published in English
January 1970
Pages516 (French)
Followed byBanco 

Papillon (French: [papijɔ̃], lit. "butterfly") is a novel written by Henri Charrière, first published in France on 30 April 1969. Papillon is Charrière's nickname.[1] The novel details Papillon's purported incarceration and subsequent escape from the French penal colony of French Guiana, and covers a 14-year period between 1931 and 1945. While Charrière claimed that Papillon was largely true, modern researchers believe that much of the book’s material came from other inmates, rather than Charrière himself.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference worldcat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Small-time Paris thief writes a bestseller". Boca Raton News. 5 November 1970. Retrieved 2018-09-15.