(Manuscript) 'The Twins'

Bookseller Notes

A handsome manuscript fair copy of Les Jumelles; or, the Twins, the extraordinary biography of French-Haitian sisters who escaped the Revolution and married into the English gentry (published 1828). Lucinde Maria Louise Antoinette & Zbe Ann Rose Touzi were born to French colonists on the island of St Domingue (Haiti) in 1799, but were orphaned during the turmoil of the Haitian Revolution. Facing starvation and uncertainty - they spent much time holed up in a besieged French garrison - Lucinde made a dangerous crossing to Curaao in an open boat, which was intercepted by a British warship. She was taken back to Britain by Captain Thomas Symonds, who later married her and arranged for Zbe to join her. Zbe married Major General Alexander Gordon in 1822, a younger son of the Marquess of Huntly and Duke of Gordon. Their extraordinary life story - which for British readers suggested a possible future for islands like Jamaica - was published with a dedication to Lady William Gordon, 'for whose perusal it was originally drawn up'. That dedication is repeated here. This is a curious volume; although the watermark (1833) is later than the published book, the upmarket binding and finesse in production suggest that it belonged to someone with a close personal connection to the manuscript.See: John Gask, ed. Les Jumelles and Their Families : A Companion Volume to Les Jumelles (the Twins) Published in 1826. (Oxford, 1989).