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Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor's Account of the "Galapagos Affair"
In 1929, Dr. Frederick Ritter and Dore Strauch fled the social and economic turmoil of post-World War I Germany, choosing to abandon the chaos of modern civilization, as well as their respective spouses. They began a quest to reclaim the purity of nature for themselves. They chose as their Eden the dry, uninhabited volcanic island of Floreana in the Galapagos chain. Their experiences in their new paradise—and the ensuing scandals—would captivate the Western world.
Floreana's unforgiving environment hardly proved to be a idyllic choice, and were it not for the assistance of American yachters, Ritter and Strauch, naive and unprepared as they were, might easily have perished during their first year as colonists.
Yacht crews returned with news of the eccentric couple's adventures, and they became darlings of the Western press. This unwelcome publicity lead to the arrival of a second family on the island, soon followed by a pistol-wielding Austrian "baroness" and her two young lovers. While not without her charm, this mysterious "aristocrat" could also be sinister and controlling. Tensions grew rapidly, jealousies and resentments raged, and soon this island with a population of 9 was at war with itself.
The baroness was to disappear into thin air, in what western papers headlined as “The Galapagos Affair.” Other premature deaths followed close at hand, and Floreana developed an air of danger, suspicion and scandal that still entices today. Who was the "Satan" who came to Eden? Was it a singular person, or was it the darkness that can arise in every human heart? It is a question for each reader to answer in their own way, picking up clues not only from what is said, but from what is omitted.
Originally published in 1936, Satan Came to Eden meticulously recounts Ritter and Strauch's often bizarre, true-life struggle from a survivor's point of view—an account lost to the public for nearly 80 years. Editor Joseph Troise supplements Strauch's original memoir with previously unpublished photographs and an informative preface, introducing a new generation of readers to one of the strangest stories of the twentieth century.
Floreana's unforgiving environment hardly proved to be a idyllic choice, and were it not for the assistance of American yachters, Ritter and Strauch, naive and unprepared as they were, might easily have perished during their first year as colonists.
Yacht crews returned with news of the eccentric couple's adventures, and they became darlings of the Western press. This unwelcome publicity lead to the arrival of a second family on the island, soon followed by a pistol-wielding Austrian "baroness" and her two young lovers. While not without her charm, this mysterious "aristocrat" could also be sinister and controlling. Tensions grew rapidly, jealousies and resentments raged, and soon this island with a population of 9 was at war with itself.
The baroness was to disappear into thin air, in what western papers headlined as “The Galapagos Affair.” Other premature deaths followed close at hand, and Floreana developed an air of danger, suspicion and scandal that still entices today. Who was the "Satan" who came to Eden? Was it a singular person, or was it the darkness that can arise in every human heart? It is a question for each reader to answer in their own way, picking up clues not only from what is said, but from what is omitted.
Originally published in 1936, Satan Came to Eden meticulously recounts Ritter and Strauch's often bizarre, true-life struggle from a survivor's point of view—an account lost to the public for nearly 80 years. Editor Joseph Troise supplements Strauch's original memoir with previously unpublished photographs and an informative preface, introducing a new generation of readers to one of the strangest stories of the twentieth century.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1936
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1088 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
August 14, 2025
This is a strange book. I had read a lot about Dore Strauch and Friedrich Ritter in the other Galapagos books, but I still was not really prepared for how petty and off-putting she was. My main takeaway from the book is that Dore was deeply disturbed, as were many of the other Floreana inhabitants, though her issues were less overt compared to some of the others.
Whether she is praising what a unique special being she and Ritter are and have been since birth or justifying his horrific constant abuse of her as character building or harping on how much she hated Margret Wittmer, it is clear she was an extremely insecure and unhappy person who lashed out at others and constructed fantasies in her head of what she wanted her life to be rather than detailing what it actually was.
That's not to say the book doesn't have its moments. She is a talented writer, and her descriptions of the island's beauty are evocative. Some of her accounts of her exchanges with the overbearing and also demented fake Baroness are entertaining.
But I mainly continued reading this book out of morbid curiosity. Dore, for all of her self-praise about how deep and intellectual she was, comes across as very superstitious and naive. She believes from the beginning that there were evil spirits on the island. She also insisted that only she and Ritter were pure enough to live on the island, an illusion that was no doubt shattered by the fact that her archnemesis Margret outlasted her there by decades. She also is clearly lying at several points and omitting important information to tell the story she wants to tell.
So, spoiler alert but reading this book also convinced me that the accusations she poisoned Ritter were true, precisely because of some of the lies she tells. Such as framing their relationship improving in the final months when everyone else who met them commented on how badly they were getting along. They had always had a rocky relationship but at that point they didn't even try to hide it from visitors.
Unless you have a very passionate interest in Floreana, I would suggest skipping this one and instead sticking with the nonfiction accounts and Margret Wittmer's book, which is much more enjoyable to read and also seems much more honest.
Whether she is praising what a unique special being she and Ritter are and have been since birth or justifying his horrific constant abuse of her as character building or harping on how much she hated Margret Wittmer, it is clear she was an extremely insecure and unhappy person who lashed out at others and constructed fantasies in her head of what she wanted her life to be rather than detailing what it actually was.
That's not to say the book doesn't have its moments. She is a talented writer, and her descriptions of the island's beauty are evocative. Some of her accounts of her exchanges with the overbearing and also demented fake Baroness are entertaining.
But I mainly continued reading this book out of morbid curiosity. Dore, for all of her self-praise about how deep and intellectual she was, comes across as very superstitious and naive. She believes from the beginning that there were evil spirits on the island. She also insisted that only she and Ritter were pure enough to live on the island, an illusion that was no doubt shattered by the fact that her archnemesis Margret outlasted her there by decades. She also is clearly lying at several points and omitting important information to tell the story she wants to tell.
So, spoiler alert but reading this book also convinced me that the accusations she poisoned Ritter were true, precisely because of some of the lies she tells. Such as framing their relationship improving in the final months when everyone else who met them commented on how badly they were getting along. They had always had a rocky relationship but at that point they didn't even try to hide it from visitors.
Unless you have a very passionate interest in Floreana, I would suggest skipping this one and instead sticking with the nonfiction accounts and Margret Wittmer's book, which is much more enjoyable to read and also seems much more honest.
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May 24, 2016april 2016
Trying to catch up with everything still on my plate, I've discussed this book here, in combination with two other books that all go together.
This book is part of the basis of a documentary of the same name that I watched in the wee hours of the morning once in April when I had insomnia. The documentary itself is incredibly interesting, involving two mysteries that took place on the island of Floreana in the Galapagos archipelago in the early 1930s. This book is also a memoir written by one of the parties involved, Dore Strauch, who had come to the island with her lover and mentor, Dr. Friedrich Ritter who was eager to leave civilization behind and embark on an experiment living as far away from the outside world as possible. While parts of it deal with survival on Floreana, there is also much about the strange disappearance of a strange, no, make that utterly bizarre woman who called herself the Baroness along with one of her lovers who had seriously disrupted the lives of two families who lived there. If you're into historical true crime, this one is a doozie.
Trying to catch up with everything still on my plate, I've discussed this book here, in combination with two other books that all go together.
This book is part of the basis of a documentary of the same name that I watched in the wee hours of the morning once in April when I had insomnia. The documentary itself is incredibly interesting, involving two mysteries that took place on the island of Floreana in the Galapagos archipelago in the early 1930s. This book is also a memoir written by one of the parties involved, Dore Strauch, who had come to the island with her lover and mentor, Dr. Friedrich Ritter who was eager to leave civilization behind and embark on an experiment living as far away from the outside world as possible. While parts of it deal with survival on Floreana, there is also much about the strange disappearance of a strange, no, make that utterly bizarre woman who called herself the Baroness along with one of her lovers who had seriously disrupted the lives of two families who lived there. If you're into historical true crime, this one is a doozie.
August 16, 2020
Aaargh so disappointing. This is a crazy and totally fascinating story. But Dore's account is the most frustrating thing. Obviously it's all through her eyes, but she's so deeply in thrall to the clearly hideously abusive Frederick that all nuance is lost. It's written in the style of the time, but this renders it deeply dull. A story like this should never be dull. You'd think it couldn't be dull. But here it is. Dull as f. I'm so disappointed.
June 19, 2014
This book has been out of print for 80 years but recently brought back to life. It's an irresistible tale of a human adventure so bizarre it reads like fiction, but isn't! It's kind of light peeling back an onion--each page seems to reveal some new angle, or mystery, or character. The narrator, a young German woman who, with her lover, decided to colonize a volcanic island in the Galapagos called Floreana, dictates her memoir to use while unconsciously revealing more about herself than I'm sure she even knew. Add other eccentric characters, a murder (maybe), a poisoning, other mysterious deaths--and you have, as one critic put it "a collaboration of Charles Darwin and Stephen King".
September 17, 2017
These two come off as arrogant weirdos. Ritter is a bizarre, endlessly mansplaining misogynist dentist with no teeth, who thinks he is a great philosopher and has the answers to everything, and Strauch is his captive audience and worshipper. The account of the island is really interesting, but I disliked the narrator and her husband pretty intensely. The story ends with the death of Ritter under mysterious circumstances, and we never find out what happened to Strauch once she left the island.
March 14, 2019
Good read
This book is all the more interesting given the mental state and gender of the writer and the period in which it was written. The details about the Galapagos and its seasons and history are fascinating. The lives of the author and those she came into contact with are also interesting. A worthy read.
This book is all the more interesting given the mental state and gender of the writer and the period in which it was written. The details about the Galapagos and its seasons and history are fascinating. The lives of the author and those she came into contact with are also interesting. A worthy read.
August 2, 2014
Adventure and Sadness
Adventure and Sadness
I lived on an island in Belize for a year and it seemed like paradise BUT it had its problems too. This story brought out the true nature of people and it ended in tragedy...great read...
Adventure and Sadness
I lived on an island in Belize for a year and it seemed like paradise BUT it had its problems too. This story brought out the true nature of people and it ended in tragedy...great read...
January 10, 2025
When I finished this book, I closed it, sat back and said, "Wow." It filled in key gaps in a story that has been referenced by other books I had read, and was very satisfying in tying up so many loose ends. If you have never heard of "the Galapagos Affair" then you may not appreciate the usefulness of this little narrative; it may sound simplistic (the narrative is solidly written but certainly not particularly stylish prose) or you may just wonder, "What the heck?' as if you just watched one episode in the middle of a TV series. However, if you are familiar with the works of William Albert Robinson and others who sailed to the Galapagos in the early part of the 20th century, you have heard of this "affair," and in that case, it all fits and makes sense. I felt the author's voice was very sincere and believable, which is an interesting accomplishment when describing a situation in which so many players are severely eccentric, deliberately deceptive, criminally untruthful or extremely bizarre to the point that one feels we are watching a sad sick kind of circus show. Some critics distrust the facts presented in this book as well, but personally it rang of truth to me. So, if you have heard of this story and interested in what I believe is the most accurate description of its evolution and outcome, I highly recommend the book. My only question is - does anyone know what happened to the author after she returned to Europe and published the book? I can't find any information. She was still quite young, although somewhat disabled. Let me know if you know, thanks.
June 15, 2021
Fun to read two competing journals of two German woman who are early colonizer on a remote island in the 1930s with their husbands. Greatly appreciated they left a compete record. A tough austere adventure with no drama.
In Floreana by Ms. Wittmer you have a slightly less dramatic unfolding of struggles and a near entire life. She was thoughtful in a narrative. I urge both be read.
In the narrative Saten Comes to Eden by Ms. Strauch you have extraordinary drama and bias enriching tale. Both I expect are correct if only competing perspectives. Now a 100 years in the future would not some of these eccentric conflicts persists? I except these would and now it would be tweets and Facebook posts vice this record that persists.
I figured I would get intimate with the Galapagos. What better way then to read a few of the first trailblazer to human colonization. May humanity be better in our next explorations.
In Floreana by Ms. Wittmer you have a slightly less dramatic unfolding of struggles and a near entire life. She was thoughtful in a narrative. I urge both be read.
In the narrative Saten Comes to Eden by Ms. Strauch you have extraordinary drama and bias enriching tale. Both I expect are correct if only competing perspectives. Now a 100 years in the future would not some of these eccentric conflicts persists? I except these would and now it would be tweets and Facebook posts vice this record that persists.
I figured I would get intimate with the Galapagos. What better way then to read a few of the first trailblazer to human colonization. May humanity be better in our next explorations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2017
After watching the documentary, I just had to read an account of this mysterious, murderous story of portent and doom. Dore's point of view gave the story a lot more detail than the documentary, though biased as it may be, I simply adored her matter-of-fact yet melodramatic narration. I'm drawn to this type of true-life "abandonment of society" tale and it reminded me somewhat of Vincent Bugliosi's And the Sea Will Tell, another true-life story of a couple ditching society only to receive unexpected neighbors. The similarities end there, however, as Frederick and Dore's story had more colorful characters stirring the tropical pot. And I liked them a whole lot more.
July 18, 2020
I have to admit that I wasn't able to finish this book. Dore left her husband to run away to a desert island with her doctor. She didn't want to play Hausfrau to her husband. He was willing to let her continue working at a bank. He was willing to let her keep the money she earned at that job. He had enough money of his own. He probably would have hired a maid for her had she asked him to. This was the late 20s / early 30s. He seemed to be very liberated as far as women's issues were concerned. She could have been happy with him. Her doctor had such a strange hold over her that she believed she was unhappy with her husband.
September 6, 2020
Hoeveel in dit boek is werkelijk verteld door Dore Strauch en hoeveel is het werk van Walter Brockmann? Het is gek dat zij sensatiezucht afkeurde, maar toch zelf een boek als dit afleverde.
Deze editie is trouwens weinig verzorgd: de tekstbezorger/uitgever lijkt zich nooit om proeflezen te hebben bekommerd.
Hoe dan ook, ik ben benieuwd naar het andere perspectief, in Floreana.
Deze editie is trouwens weinig verzorgd: de tekstbezorger/uitgever lijkt zich nooit om proeflezen te hebben bekommerd.
Hoe dan ook, ik ben benieuwd naar het andere perspectief, in Floreana.
March 7, 2025
This was my third book on the topic and my least favorite, but mostly because of how much I enjoyed the other two, both titled Floreana. It’s certainly a fascinating story. Her perspective is so sad and the book seems like mad ramblings, especially compared to Margret Wittmer’s even keeled memoir.
Now that I’ve been to Floreana, I can say that anyone would go mad if they had to live with that heat and those horseflies!
Now that I’ve been to Floreana, I can say that anyone would go mad if they had to live with that heat and those horseflies!
March 7, 2025
This was a very interesting piece of non-fiction to read before a trip to the Galapagos. Strauch tells her story well. She does not tell us anything about the "philosophy" that her partner was studying and writing about, but he seems to have been a very odd man, and not an especially kind one. None of the characters on the island were very sympathy provoking.
March 1, 2025
This book is excellent. I’m n the Galapagos and it was fascinating hearing about life of settlers on the islands. Well written and captivating story. There is also a movie, Floriana, which I would like to read
May 8, 2017
Very strange.... I can see how people become addicted to knowing what happened...these were real people and very strange. It if fascinating.
February 6, 2020
I thought this was an interesting story although biased. I mostly believe what Dore Strauch wrote but also believe we will never know the full truth.
May 2, 2025
Quite the amazing story about trouble in paradise in the 1930s in the Galápagos Islands. I read it while I was on a boat near the island in question.
December 14, 2025
slow paced but beautifully written...true account of an adventure of human grit..
February 22, 2015
This is a great story, and it helps that it is told in strong, compelling prose. How much of the credit should go to Walter Brockmann is, of course, impossible to say, just as it is impossible to know how accurate Dore Strauch's recollections of her time in the Galapagos were. She arrived on Floreana in 1929, and left soon after the death of her companion, Dr. Friedrich Ritter, who seems to have succumbed from food poisoning in 1934. In those few short years, they seem to have built an impressive house from scratch, but most of the narrative is concerned with the dynamics of their own relationship, and their contacts with other German settlers who came to the island, ironically, because they'd heard about Strauch and Ritter. Although Strauch attributes their desire to leave Germany to purely personal and philosophical motivations, it is hard not to speculate about their political views. During their time on the island, many people came and went, but 2 groups made a definite attempt to set themselves up permanently: the Wittmer family and a motley crew comprised of a self-styled Baroness von Wagner and her beaus, Lorenz and Philippson, who in fact were also her slaves. The Baroness was an adventuress pure and simple who intended to build an exclusive hotel for rich American yachtsmen. This plan never came to fruition because she disappeared, probably killed by Lorenz, whom she had robbed blind and refused to compensate him enough for him to be able to leave Floreana. At least that's Dore's version of events. I was alerted to this book by a recent documentary which makes the story more mysterious by including the diverging account of Margret Wittmer. I don't understand why this book went out of print for so long given how gripping the material is.
August 26, 2016
A fascinating tale, especially when taken into account with other first-person documents of the same weird scenario. Dore's descriptions are interesting - her description of the isolation, the love (or codependence?), the neighbors. In a way this same story could be told on a busy suburban street; the beautiful islands are just a backdrop for it. We are watching two lovers' idealism crashed against realism. Even while their own disappointments in each other are manifesting, the relationship pressure is compounded by external influences too. Sometimes their reaction seems to be to ally, and other times their reaction is to project and blame. In my opinion it is a mistake to judge this book by the mystery alone. Instead I believe audiences are bewitched by the situation itself: the personalities that are drawn to it, their dynamics once they are there and the finite period that the island was in this particular state.
January 10, 2016
Enthralling and captivating read
This is a tale of human fortitude and mankind's inner quest to regain the tranquility of the legend garden of Eden. However mans innate nature Demonstrates the fallacy of such pursuits. The book Satan came to Eden really narrates in a most vivid way the turmoil of a couple whose longing for seclusion from the worldly baggage of life is sought in the serene but unrelenting islands of the Galapagos. Between the unforgiving nature of the lands they occupy, the dastardly spirits of ills of the past and the vulgar nature of mankind the book tells a tale of the triumph and failures of the author and her alienate in this journey.
This is a tale of human fortitude and mankind's inner quest to regain the tranquility of the legend garden of Eden. However mans innate nature Demonstrates the fallacy of such pursuits. The book Satan came to Eden really narrates in a most vivid way the turmoil of a couple whose longing for seclusion from the worldly baggage of life is sought in the serene but unrelenting islands of the Galapagos. Between the unforgiving nature of the lands they occupy, the dastardly spirits of ills of the past and the vulgar nature of mankind the book tells a tale of the triumph and failures of the author and her alienate in this journey.
October 2, 2014
1936 book about the Galapagos "experiment" in which Strauch and her lover, Dr. Ritter, went off to an isolated and unpopulated island in the Galapagos to find their own Eden. They never really did: living there was a lot of hard work, and when others came to join them (in the words of a potential modern-day book blurb), madness and murder followed. It's very interesting to watch as Strauch tries to make Ritter sound like an intellectual hero while at the same time being very frustrated with his ideas about everyday life and the role of women in society. Fascinating.
August 23, 2015
This is a very strange book. The author fancies herself a good judge of character - but thinks of her companion as a god because of the philosophy. Even though she herself talks about his shortcomings. She also talks about how a woman needs a strong man to keep her in line (ugh!). But, seeing that she's writing about the 20's/30's, I guess one should expect some differences in outlook. The events themselves are incredible and show that sometimes it's better to live in society with limitations on human freedom of action. Sort of a true-life Lord of the Flies, but with adults.
September 7, 2015
For someone who sought a lifestyle framed by a philosophy of separating truth from lies and achieving self-actualization, Dore Strauch was certainly quite superstitious. She was also very co-dependent in her relationship with the indomitable Frederich Ritter which, throughout this memoir, she tries to justify or deny. Still, I salute Strauch for making a go of survival in the Galapagos. And following the ugly business with the Baroness and her Boys, I don't blame Strauch a bit for leaving either.
February 4, 2015
This book really is a crazy story. It was good but not the greatest.
June 4, 2016
Fascinating and bizarre. Read this in preparation for my trip to the Galapagos and will definitely be looking at the history of the islands from a new perspective.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews