Clément Duval

According to Paul Albert, "The story of Clement Duval was lifted and, shorn of all politics, turned into the bestseller Papillon.

"[1] In October 1886, Duval broke into the mansion of a Parisian socialite and stole 15,000 francs before accidentally setting the house on fire.

[2][3] In a letter printed in the November 1886 issue of the anarchist paper Le Révolté, Duval famously declared: "Le vol n'est que la restitution, opéré à son profit par un individu conscient des richesses produites collectivement, et indûment accaparée par quelques-uns.

"[4] ("Theft is but restitution carried out by an individual to his own benefit, being conscious of another's undue monopolization of collectively produced wealth.")

in Lausanne, recovered part of Duval's original manuscript, and had it published[6] as Outrage: An Anarchist Memoir of the Penal Colony.