Stella: A Novel of the Haitian Revolution

America and the Long 19th Century Series

by Emeric Bergeaud, Christen Mucher, Lesley S. Curtis

Stella, first published in 1859, is an imaginative retelling of Haiti's fight for independence from slavery and French colonialism. Set during the years of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), Stella tells the story of two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who help transform their homeland from the French colony of Saint-Domingue to the independent republic of Haiti. Inspired by the sacrifice of their African mother Marie and Stella, the spirit of Liberty, Romulus and Remus must learn to work together to found a new country based on the principles of freedom and equality. This new translation and critical edition of �meric Bergeaud's allegorical novel makes Stella available to English-speaking audiences for the first time.




Considered the first novel written by a Haitian, Stella tells of the devastation and deprivation that colonialism and slavery wrought upon Bergeaud's homeland. Unique among nineteenth-century accounts, Stella gives a pro-Haitian version of the Haitian Revolution, a bloody but just struggle that emancipated a people, and it charges future generations with remembering the sacrifices and glory of their victory. Bergeaud's novel demonstrates that the Haitians--not the French--are the true inheritors of the French Revolution, and that Haiti is the realization of its republican ideals. At a time in which Haitian Studies is becoming increasingly important within the English-speaking world, this edition calls attention to the rich though under-examined world of nineteenth-century Haiti.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Novels

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1859

Reviews

[Abbie Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’aime le cadre allégorique du livre, je pense que c’est une manière intéressante d’évoquer une histoire nationale. J’admire l’angle étrangement optimiste que Bergeaud a tiré de telle souffrance et qui incarne l’esprit joyeux de Haïti malgré ce que le peuple a vécu. Je suis contente que je puisse entendre cette histoire de la part d’un haïtien.

[Purple Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. The translation seems pretty decent. I'll have to compare it to the original at some point. I would actually have liked more footnotes. I don't think many casual readers would pick this up, so I don't think more footnotes would be a deterrant in that way and some of the more obscure passages could use more contextualization.

[Jasmin Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first 50 pages, but the constant descriptions of people fighting gets tiring after a while.

[Bob Finch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the one other review posted so far: the book is of historical interest. As a literary work, it falls short, very short. I got it on a whim from NYU Press because I knew little of the Haitian revolution. I know more now, and I will give the author credit for not whitewashing or overdramatizing either side in the conflict. It is a remarkably balanced treatment, so far as it goes.

Clearly the pro-slavery factions are the bad guys, with France straddling both sides (kind of). Also, the complex interplay among major European powers at the time had an interesting impact on the revolution and its progress, which I was less aware about until I read this book. However, this novel's approach to telling the story left me cold, even irritated at times. The author clearly couldn't decide between his allegorical design and his need to explain individual details. This apparently the first English translation. Perhaps it reads better in the original French. But I doubt it.

[Kyleeanne Wood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bergeaud leans so far into ideological symbolism that he doesn't bother to write human characters. Instead, he only presents husks of bodies that solely reflect abstract themes of the Haitian Revolution.
From that, I'd say this book seems to be one only "of historical interest."

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of historical interest.