Stella

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Stella, the first Haitian novel, combines descriptions of moving scenes with factual accounts of the 13 years of the Haitian revolution (1791-1804). Stella is an epic saga and chapter headings refer to major events in Haiti’s history and the major historical figures are present - Toussaint. Petion, Christophe, Sonthonax, Leclerc - among many others. The allegorical figures are mainly episodic and are meant to hold the plot together. It is also an important document of Caribbean history and fictionalised history.

Written while the author was exiled to St. Thomas, due to his alleged participation in an attempt to assassinate the black emperor Faustin I (Soulouque), the work can be read as the first foundational novel of Haiti. It is a mythical retelling of the establishment of the Haitian nation. This narrative presents not only the birth, through revolution, of Haiti as an independent nation but also the strife between political factions in Bergeaud’s contemporary Haiti, including that between blacks and mulattoes in the struggle to control Haiti. Stella vividly introduces readers to the tale of revolt and revolution that eventually led to the creation of a free black nation.