This peculiar narrative of a utopian dream turned nightmare follows the tragic journey of two German socialites attempting to escape civilisation post-World War One. The twisted tale of murder and deception culminates in an oil tycoon discovering two mummified bodies on one of the Galapagos Islands’ shores.
The story, set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the looming World War Two, is now being adapted for the screen in Eden. Jude Law will portray the eccentric Berlin doctor Freiderich Ritter, with Vanessa Kirby as his sophisticated lover Dore Strauch. Ana de Armas will play a Baroness entranced by the couple’s tale, while Sydney Sweeney will portray Margret Wittmer, another woman ensnared in this bizarre saga.
The narrative, unearthed in Abbott Khaler’s book Eden Undone and drawn from previously unseen archives, concludes at the peak of the Great Depression, when Los Angeles oil magnate George Allan Hancock and his team of Smithsonian scientists stumble upon a macabre pair of corpses.
The island of Florena was previously known only to those who visited it to collect rare species for Western zoos. It was for this purpose that George Hancock and other American elites initially journeyed to the South Seas, seeking specimens for scientific research.
During a visit to the Galápagos, Hancock stumbled upon an intriguing group of European exiles led by Freiderich Ritter and Dore Strauch. They had escaped political and economic turmoil in their homeland with dreams of establishing a utopian paradise on the island. However, as Hancock and his fellow American explorers soon found out, this paradise had descended into pandemonium.
Over time, Ritter and his partner were joined by a shell-shocked World War One veteran and his young family, along with an Austrian baroness accompanied by her two devoted lovers. This motley crew quickly became embroiled in conflict.
In 1932, Heinz and Margret Wittmer, who was expecting a baby, brought their teenage son to the island. Their newborn, Rolf, who was delivered in a cave on the island, is believed to be the first person born on Floreana.
Tensions flared between Dore and Margret, leading to the Wittmers being housed in a cave previously used as a pirate’s lair – they later constructed a proper dwelling. The situation took a bizarre turn in 1933 when the eccentric and flamboyant self-styled Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet arrived with her two lovers, Rudolf Lorenz and Robert Phillipson, and their Ecuadorian servant Manuel Valdivieso.
Petty disputes escalated into heated exchanges as the baroness, armed with a riding crop and a pearl-handled revolver, orchestrated brawls between her two paramours and brazenly charmed American visitors. Her antics soon stole the limelight from Ritter and Strauch, causing resentment among the duo who were used to global media attention.
In their memoirs, Dore and Margret each recall being present at Freiderich Ritter’s deathbed, with strikingly disparate recollections of his final moments. Dore recounts an affectionate farewell, but Margaret describes Ritter glaring at his partner, allegedly proclaiming with his dying breath: “I curse you with my dying breath.”
The Baroness’ companions, Lorenz and Nuggerud, took a journey to Santa Cruz, obtained supplies, and set out for San Cristóbal, only to disappear mysteriously. Several months afterward, in 1934, their mummified corpses were discovered on the shores of Marchena Island, significantly off course from their intended destination.
Following Ritter’s demise, Strauch returned to Germany where she died in 1943. The Wittmers continued to reside on Floreana, eventually prospering from the tourism influx years later. Their descendants remain on Floreana today.
Margret Wittmer remained on the island until her death in 2000, aged 96. She consistently stood by her account, taking any undisclosed truths with her to her final resting place.
The outcome was fatal: with two exiles vanished and two others deceased, the remaining individuals levelled murder allegations. Abbott Kahler, utilising previously unpublished archives, crafts a spine-tingling narrative that could easily be mistaken for an Agatha Christie thriller.
Eden is set to hit European cinemas on Thursday, April 3. A US release date has yet to be announced.
The film is helmed by acclaimed director Ron Howard, renowned for his work on Arrested Development and A Beautiful Mind.
