The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi

First US edition. 8vo. Pp. [viii], 384, [4]. Two-toned paper boards, lettered in gilt to spine; deckled fore-edge. Jacket design by Susan Carroll. B/w photos of Kwasi Boachi, Dutch royal genealogy chart, afterword with sources to rear.

Translated from the Dutch De zwarte met het witte hart, by Ina Rilke.

Author's debut novel, an instant bestseller upon first publication. Nominated for the 2002 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. "The first ten years of my life I was not black." Thus begins this startling tale based on the true story of Kwasi Boachi, a 19th-century African prince sent to the Dutch court together with his cousin, Kwame, by the King of the Ashanti as a surety in a business deal.

Basis for the two-act opera, Kwasi & Kwame, by the British composer Jonathan Dove with an English libretto by Japin, which premiered by Onafhankelijk Toneel, Rotterdam, in October 2007. "A virtuoso recreation of an extraordinary life." –Daily Telegraph