ISLE OF THE DAMNED

by George Jean Seaton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 21, 1951

The notorious scenes and events of Dry Guillotine are told again by one of the last men to leave the now closed penal colony of French Guiana. The descendent of a titled English family, born under the bar sinister, Mr. Seaton was badly raised by a foolish, doting grandmother, at 19 suddenly found himself penniless, took to thievery and ended up a kleptomaniac sentenced to ""Devil's Island"". This is the story of his 23 years there, as prisoner, libere, prisoner again, and finally successful escaper. The fetid diet that caused scurvy, loss of teeth, etc., the venal administration, the lack of decent hospitals or medication, the brutal climate, the swamps of the infamous Route Zero, 24 miles of a road going nowhere with each yard paid for by a corpse, are all here, as is a loving description of the one man in all the 23 years who showed Seaton kindness -- the Salvation Army major in Cayenne. Though well written, the edge of shock has been taken off the material by the many previous books written about the infamous colony.

Pub Date: Oct. 21, 1951

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Young

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1951

Categories: NONFICTION