Op Martinique en Sint-Vincent, de veelgeteisterde eilanden

Arriving in Martinique at the turn of the twentieth century, the narrator joins a French scientific commission to measure the devastation left by the 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée. From the modest state yacht Jouffroy, he and the geologist Lacroix sail each sunrise along the black‑coated coastline, photographing the smoking summit and stepping onto the ash‑strewn beaches of Carbet and Prêcheur. Their observations turn the ruined city of Saint‑Pierre into a stark tableau of shattered stone, toppled iron pillars and a shattered cathedral that evokes the silence of Pompeii.

Beyond the raw description, the book weaves the author's reflections on the human cost, the scramble of looters, and the uneasy debate over rebuilding on such a scarred landscape. It offers listeners a richly detailed, almost tactile sense of early‑modern volcanology, colonial administration, and the fragile hope that can arise amid total ruin. The narrative balances scientific curiosity with a poignant, personal reckoning of loss.