Histoire de Mesdemoiselles de Saint-Janvier. Les deux seules blanches conservées a Saint-Domingue. Seconde édition
Author: Palaiseau, Mlle de
Place of Publication: A Paris
Publisher: Chez J.-J. Blaise, libraire
Publication Date: M. DCCC. XII. [1812]
Physical Description: x, [1], 12-83, [1] p., [4] leaves of plates : ill. ; 17 cm. (12mo)
Description:
Attributed to Mlle de Palaiseau by Barbier, Bissainthe and Sabin, this is a short fictionalized account (83 pages) of the Saint-Janvier family, white colonial planters, in Saint-Domingue during the revolution and of their young daughters, Marie-Louise-Augustine (b. 1797) and Hortense, (b. 1793). After the great diaspora of white planters and landed affranchis back to France, and other places of Haitian refugees such as Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and New Orleans, as well other islands in the West Indies, one can imagine that the image of Saint- Domingue as “home” might have stirred strong feelings of nostalgia. Among the dramatic works and novels that were written, this is one of the most interesting. There are four plates accompanying the work. The most interesting one is an engraved frontispiece depicting a woman holding her two small daughters addressing a soldier. The frontispiece depicts the soldier as white and has no caption. A second state (bound to face p. 33) of the engraving depicts the soldier as black and has the caption "Ah! M. Diakué, sauvez mes enfants”.
Notes: E812 .P154h