The First and Last King of Haiti

Reviews

“A fascinating, in-depth, and meticulously researched biography of Haiti’s revolutionary-turned-king.”
—EDWIDGE DANTICAT, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory

“Daut shows us, often for the first time, the various personal, cultural, political, and financial forces that created the controversial future king in all his complexity, as well as the specific contours of his leadership—and his failures. From a place of heartfelt agony, she deploys magnificent archival detective work to catalog the horrors of enslavement and the slave-based economy from which sprang the world-historic Haitian revolution, progenitor of the modern era.”
—AMY WILENTZ, author of The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier

“Daut’s monumental work conclusively demystifies one of the most misunderstood, romanticized, and demonized figures of the Haitian Revolution in order to set him free once more. This is an important, signal work from one of Haiti’s leading historians.”
—MYRIAM J. A. CHANCY, author of Harvesting Haiti: Reflections on Unnatural Disasters

“A tour de force. Daut brings King Henry Christophe vividly back to life in this deeply researched and rivetingly told biography. In a work overflowing with new archival discoveries and insights, she carries us expertly through a moment of revolutionary political thought and cultural transformation that reshaped our world and its possibilities. Everyone should know this history.”
—LAURENT DUBOIS, author of Haiti: The Aftershocks of History

“A powerful biography of Henry Christophe, who fought for, defected from, and ultimately ruled over Haiti. . . . Christophe ... emerges in Daut’s telling as a complex figure in a world gripped by radical transformation. . . . The result is an expertly told and richly detailed reexamination of the revolutionary period.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“By clearly chronicling Christophe's complexstory with detail and nuanced analysis, Daut portrays a crucial, if little-known leader and traces the deep roots of Haiti's ongoing struggles.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“[Marlene] Daut, one of the foremost historians of Haiti, has penned a groundbreaking scholarly biography of Henry Christophe. . . . Daut’s research is outstanding. She has unearthed new sources in Caribbean and European archives, and she weighs all evidence carefully and reaches judicious conclusions. . . . A must-read for scholars.”
—Library Journal

“An impressively-researched biography.”
—Times Literary Supplement, “Books of the Year”

“As a narrative of the rise and fall of Henry Christophe ... [The First and Last King of Haiti] will likely stand as the definitive work for a long time to come.”
—American Scholar Expand reviews