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This bibliography represents the research foundation for THE FOURSOME, a novel that reimagines the lives of Chang and Eng Bunker – conjoined twins, immigrants to America, family men, and slaveholders – through the lens of their experience in 19th-century North Carolina. Told from the perspective of one of their wives, Sarah “Sallie” Bunker, the novel draws on a wide range of sources to illuminate the social cultural, and emotional landscape they inhabited.
Scholarly, Critical, and Historical Sources
Allen, Harrison, MD. “An Autopsy on the Bodies of Chang and Eng Bunker, Commonly Known as the Siamese Twins.” Philadelphia, 1875.
Original medical documentation of the twins’ autopsy, providing crucial anatomical and physiological details that informed the novel’s portrayal of their physical condition and final years.
Clarke, Erskine. Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic.
A deeply researched narrative history of a Southern plantation that provided essential context for the novel’s depiction of antebellum domestic life.
Clarke’s Confederate Household Almanac. 1863.
A period document offering insight into domestic routines, cultural attitudes, and daily life in Civil War-era North Carolina.
del Molino, Sergio. “What Makes me a Monster.” The New York Times, December 16, 2021. Contemporary essay on living with physical difference that informed the novel’s approach to disability and identity.
Dreger, Alice Domurat. One of Us: Conjoined Twins and the Future of Normal.
A medical and ethical examination of conjoined twins that provided a contemporary perspective on disability, identity, and bodily difference.
Gold, Sarah E. “Millie-Christine McKoy and the American Freak Show: Race, Gender, and Freedom in the Postbellum Era, 1851–1912.” E-scholarship.org.
As black conjoined twin sisters born into slavery, the experiences of Millie-Christine McKoy illuminate different aspects of nineteenth-century culture than Chang and Eng.
Huang, Yunte. Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American History. W. W. Norton, 2018.
A comprehensive modern biography that served as a foundational source, offering historical depth and correcting longstanding myths about the twins’ lives.
Hunter, Kay. Duet for a Lifetime: The Story of the Original Siamese Twins.
A biographical account with a focus on the twins’ domestic lives and relationships, particularly valuable for understanding their marriages and family dynamics.
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself.
A first-person narrative of enslavement that provided authentic voice and perspective for understanding the lives of enslaved people in the antebellum South—crucial for contextualizing the twins’ household as slaveholders.
Jones-Rogers, Stephanie. They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South. Yale University Press, 2019.
A groundbreaking scholarly work on the role of white women in the institution of slavery that informed the portrayal of the twins’ wives and the gendered power dynamics within their household.
Lehrer, Riva. “I’m Done with the Costumes that Hid the ‘Monster’ Beneath.” The New York Times, October 30, 2021.
Personal essay on disability representation that influenced the novel’s treatment of the twins’ public presentation.
Morehead, Hon. J. N. Lives, Adventures, Anecdotes, Amusements, and Domestic Habits of the Siamese Twins. Raleigh, NC: 1850.
A contemporary account published during the twins’ lifetime, offering a window into how they were perceived and presented to the public.
Orser, Joseph Andrew. The Lives of Chang & Eng: Siam’s Twins in Nineteenth-Century America.
An academic treatment of the twins’ American experience, examining their integration into Southern society and their complex identity as both curiosities and citizens.
Solomon, Andrew. Far From the Tree.
A sweeping exploration of difference, family, and acceptance that offered broader psychological and sociological context for understanding the twins’ relationships with their children and community.
Wallace, Irving and Amy Wallace. The Two: The Story of the Original Siamese Twins, A Biography.
A popular biography that helped establish the twins’ place in American cultural memory and provided a readable narrative structure for their life story.
Wu, Cynthia. Chang and Eng Reconnected: The Original Siamese Twins in American Culture.
A cultural studies analysis exploring how the twins have been represented and reimagined in American media, public discourse, and popular imagination.
Yamashita, Karen Tei. Anime Wong: Fictions of Performance. “Siamese Twins and Mongoloids: Three Abstractions on Asian America.” 2014.
A critical essay examining the twins through the lens of Asian American studies and performance theory, bringing insight to questions of racialized identity and spectacle.
Literary Works
Gotanda, Philip Kan. I Dream of Chang and Eng. (Play, 2011) Theatrical interpretation that demonstrated how the twins’ story could be adapted for different artistic mediums.
Rossner, Judith. Attachments. (Novel, 1977) Fictional work exploring themes of connection and separation relevant to the twins’ experience.
Slouka, Mark. God’s Fool. (Novel, 2003) Literary exploration of the twins’ consciousness and identity, offering insights into the challenge of representing conjoined experience.
Strauss, Darin. Chang and Eng. (Novel, 2000) Fictional account of the twins’ story.
Documentary and Film Sources
Browning, Tod. Freaks, 1932. Influential film that shaped public perception of physical difference, providing context for how the twins might have been viewed in their era.
Cronenberg, David. Dead Ringers, 1988. Based on the novel *Twins* by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland. Explores psychological and physical entanglement through the lens of fictional twins.
Gibson, Josh. The Siamese Connection, 2008. Specialized documentary focusing on specific aspects of the twins’ story.
Polish, Michael. Twin Falls Idaho, 1999. Fictional portrayal of conjoined twins whose relationship is tested when a woman takes interest in one of them.
Zemeckis, Leslie. Bound by Flesh, 2012. Contemporary documentary that provided visual context and expert interviews about the twins’ lives and legacy.
Archives, Libraries, and Historical Collections
Internet Archive, JStor. Digital databases providing access to historical documents and scholarly articles.
Merchant’s House Museum, NYC. Information on 19th-century domestic life.
Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians, Philadelphia. Medical specimens and historical materials providing physical context for the twins’ medical reality.
National Library of Medicine. Medical historical resources for understanding 19th-century medical perspectives on conjoined twins.
Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine. Period maps and geographical context.
Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill. Specialized collection providing context for antebellum and Civil War-era North Carolina.
State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh. Primary documents and local records.
Wilson Special Collections Library, UNC Chapel Hill. Regional historical materials.
Family and Genealogical Research
Tanya Jones, Executive Director, Surry Arts Council. Descendant of the Eng and Sarah Bunker who provided family perspective and curatorial expertise about the Siamese Twins Museum.
Lesley Looper, Durham, NC. Genealogical research.
Alex Sink and Dottie Sykes. Descendants of Chang and Adelaide Bunker who offered family stories, guided site visits, and provided feedback on the novel’s portrayal.
Site Visits and Field Research
- Chang and Eng Bunker’s grave, White Plains, NC. Physical site providing tangible connection to the twins’ final resting place.
- McLeod Plantation Historic Site, Charleston, SC. Guided tour with Kathryn Eifert provided detailed understanding of plantation life and enslaved experiences.
- Surry County Historical Society, NC. Dr. Annette Ayers, president, provided local historical context and access to regional materials.
- University of Alabama “Hallowed Grounds” tour. Educational experience led by Dr. Hilary N. Green that deepened understanding of slavery’s lived reality.
- White Plains Baptist Church, NC. Church the twins helped build, offering insight into their community involvement and faith.
