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A paperback original
Based on events that began in Saint-Domingue on August 21,
1791, The Saint-Domingue Plantation; or, The Insurrection
vividly dramatizes the genesis and outbreak of a slave revolt.
When a representative of the French Assemblée nationale,
Monsieur de Tendale, arrives at the Valombre family plantation
to examine the condition of slaves in Saint-Domingue and to
preach their liberation, he sparks a debate among the local
curé and the Valombres—Monsieur, Madame, son
Léon, and daughter Célestine—who disagree
about how slaves should be treated and whether they should
be freed. Meanwhile, rebellion brews on the plantation. As
the slave revolt unfolds, the play's white hero, Léon,
realizes the discrepancy between his liberal political and
philosophical ideas and the reality of his family's economic
interests. The black hero, Timur, confronts the slaves' bloodthirsty
desire to kill the masters, their resistance to his leadership,
and the realization that freedom places heavy demands on him
and the other insurgents.
Translated into English by Norman R. Shapiro for the first
time since its publication in 1825, The Saint-Domingue
Plantation addresses a wide range of topics that antislavery
activists raised during Charles de Rémusat's time,
including antitorture measures, slaves' access to the sacrament
of marriage, and religious education. An informative introduction
by Doris Y. Kadish places the play in its historic and literary
contexts, inviting further discussion and interpretation of
this important work.
Charles de Rémusat (1797–1875) was a leading force
in the opposition to the Restoration government in the 1820s
and to the Second Empire in 1851. He served as an elected
member of the Chambre des députés from 1830 to 1848 and again
in 1873, as minister of foreign affairs in 1871, and was inducted
into the Académie française in 1846.
Norman R. Shapiro is professor of romance languages
and literatures at Wesleyan University. He has published over
two dozen translations from the French, including Creole
Echoes: The Francophone Poetry of Nineteenth-Century Louisiana
and The Complete Fables of Jean de la Fontaine.
Doris Y. Kadish is Distinguished Research Professor
of French and Women's Studies at the University of Georgia.
Her books include Politicizing Gender: Narrative Strategies
in the Aftermath of the French Revolution and Slavery
in the Caribbean Francophone World: Distant Voices, Forgotten
Acts, and Forged Identities. |
