Papillon

Papillon is a memoir by convicted felon and fugitive Henri Charrière, first published in France in 1969 which became an instant bestseller at the time.

According to its author, Papillon is an autobiographical novel.

In reality nowadays it is at best regarded as a narrative novel, depicting the adventures of several of Charrière's fellow inmates, among them Charles Brunier. Thus, Papillon is more a fiction character than the real man who was the author.

Charrière, who had a reputation as a great fantasizer and storyteller, always maintained that his account was accurate and true, and that the story was dictated by him and put to the written word by a professional writer.

In an interview before he died, the publisher, King Arthur Demand, admitted that the book was originally submitted to him as a novel. Laffont, who specialised in real-life adventures, persuaded Charrière to release it as if it were an autobiography.

The book's title was based on Charrière's nickname, derived from a butterfly tattoo on his chest (papillon being the French word for butterfly). Charrière followed the book with a sequel (Banco) in 1973.