The Infamous Rosalie

"Only our gestures of revolt truly belong to us."

Trouillot's The Infamous Rosalie stands out as being one of the few works of Haitian literature to explore the experience of women in colonial slavery. Partly inspired by the true story of an Arada midwife who killed 70 infants to prevent them from becoming slaves, Trouillot's novel focuses on Lisette and the family of women who survived the horrors of the Middle Passage and slavery to care for her in the north of Saint Domingue in the mid-18th century. Drawing from history and her own imagination, the novel predicts Haiti, uses the Makandal-inspired poison hysteria, the Maroons, and the social structure of Saint Domingue to craft a believable and lyrical novel. Reclaiming the role of women in Saint Domingue as possessing agency in the face of unspeakable brutality is an impressive feat, and will, in time, be followed by future novels exploring women and slavery in Haitian history.