Overview
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline comes a boldly original reimagining of the astonishing true story of two sisters in nineteenth-century North Carolina — Kline’s own distant relatives — who married world-famous conjoined twins from Siam.
When Eng and Chang Bunker arrive in Wilkes County in 1839, they’re not just a curiosity—they’re a sensation. Everyone is eager to learn whether the salacious rumors about them are true. Within months, the twins have opened a general store, bought land, and begun building a plantation. Now, word has it, they’re looking for wives—and in a place that thrives on gossip and legacy, their ambitions set the community on edge.
Sarah and Adelaide Yates, daughters of a once-prominent local family brought low by scandal, are drawn into their orbit. Bold, beautiful Adelaide sees in the twins’ fame a chance to reclaim her future. Sarah, quiet and observant, isn’t so sure. When the twins’ lives become entangled with theirs, they must navigate loyalty, longing, and identity in a world where everything—including race, class, and gender—is rigidly defined.
Spanning five decades and unfolding against the backdrop of a fractured nation hurtling toward war, The Foursome is both intimate and epic: a story of love and constraint, identity and reinvention. With piercing insight and emotional precision, Kline brings to life a forgotten chapter of American history and the complex, boundary-defying marriages at its center.
Review
I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
When Eng and Chang Bunker arrive in Wilkes County in 1839, they’re not just a curiosity—they’re a sensation. Now, word has it, they’re looking for wives. Sarah and Adelaide Yates, daughters of a once-prominent local family brought low by scandal, are drawn into their orbit. Bold, beautiful Adelaide sees in the twins’ fame a chance to reclaim her future. Sarah, quiet and observant, isn’t so sure.
Y’all have heard me say this in the past, I love a book that has me researching. I was almost immediately researching these twins from the moment I started this book. And yes, I have heard about them, I just never really knew a lot about their lives. But, these two and their wives had me intrigued from start to finish.
Not only is this union and this family unique, the time period of 1830 prior to the Civil War is also very riveting. These twins owned slaves and when the war comes it throws their whole world into chaos.
This is a captivating, emotional and down right unique tale you do not want to miss! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
I know you are not supposed to quote an arc but this quote got me!
“Grief does not end. It’s shifts, settling into the crevices of your days.”
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