Passing Strange: The Story of Eriaz and Dardeza Circles the Globe

Abstract: This article examines the account of an attempted prison break by two convicted murderers in Haiti as it passes from its initial publication in the Gazette des tribunaux in Paris (1833) to newspapers around the world over a period of sixty years. Appearing in different languages and with changing names and places, the story underlying this example of "scissors and paste journalism" testifies to readers' fascination with crime and criminals, but also to racialist prejudices, inequalities before the law, and a reevaluation of long-held views about the timeliness, relevance, commodification, and globalization of the news.