Dry Guillotine
Dry Guillotine is the English translation of the French phrase la guillotine sèche, which was prisoner slang for the Devil's Island penal colony at French Guiana. It is also the title of several articles by various authors and most notably, a very influential and successful book by former prisoner #46,635, René Belbenoît.
Examples of usage
By Charles W. Furlong
The earliest work in the United States making use of the term "dry guillotine" appears as a 14-page article in
By René Belbenoît
The best known work by this name is René Belbenoît's memoir, Dry Guillotine, Fifteen Years Among The Living Dead (1938) (also known as I Escaped From Devil's Island[2]). Dry Guillotine chronicles Belbenoît's childhood, his commission of two non-violent and relatively minor thefts from employers, and his subsequent capture, conviction, and transportation to French Guiana.[3] Belbenoît actually wrote the manuscript for Dry Guillotine while in prison and carried the work wrapped in
While a prisoner at Cayenne, Belbenoît was introduced to the American author Blair Niles, who bought several works from Belbenoît for use in her book titled Condemned to Devil's Island (1928), which also uses the term.[4] Mrs. Niles paid Belbenoît handsomely for his work, and it was this money which financed the next two escape attempts Belbenoît made.[citation needed]
Dry Guillotine, Fifteen years among the Living Dead was first published in 1938, copyright
See also
- Henri Charrière, inmate
References
- ^ Furlong, Charles W. (June 1913). "Cayenne-the Dry Guillotine". Harper's Magazine. Vol. CXXVII, no. DCCLVII.
- ^ Belbenoît, René. I Escaped From Devil's Island.
- ^ Belbenoît, René; LaVarre, William (1938). Dry Guillotine, Fifteen Years Among The Living Dead. Translated by Rambo, Preston. E. P. Dutton.
- ^ Niles, Blair (1928). Condemned to Devil's Island: The Biography of an Unknown Convict. Grosset & Dunlap.
- ^ Belbenoît, René (Prisoner No. 46635) (1940). DRY GUILLOTINE: Fifteen Years among the Living Dead. Blue Ribbon Books.
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Further reading
- OCLC 657176527. (The sequel to Dry Guillotine.)
- Godfroy, Marion F. (September 2002). Bagnards. éditions du Chêne, Paris. Archived from the original on 2003-08-29. (A coffee table book on the question.)
- Godfroy, Marion (March 2004). "C'était le bagne...". L'express. Archived from the original on June 29, 2004. Interview by the French historian.