Excerpt from The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Of course they will," Addie said. "Charles Harris is their manager, after all. And they must know half of the county has been waiting to get a glimpse."

Papa grunted from the driver's seat. "Best not to gawk."

The stories about Chang and Eng's escapades were so outlandish that they defied belief. In Massachusetts, they'd gone pigeon hunting and were harassed by a boisterous crowd. Mr. Epps, the storekeeper, told it like a tall tale: how Eng fired powder into the air to scatter the mob, then struck a man with the butt of his gun when they surged forward—only to be fined $200 for disturbing the peace.

Six months later, in Virginia, the state legislature decreed that the twins' manager at the time, Abel Coffin—having purchased them from their mother in Siam—was, in the eyes of the law, their slave master, and therefore liable for a steep "exhibition tax." Outraged at being called slaves, the brothers issued a statement declaring their intention to sever ties with Coffin as soon as possible.

And then there were the romantic escapades.

When Coffin, in a countersuit, accused them of "whoring, gaming, and drinking" and thus requiring supervision, the brothers declared that they could drink whiskey and play cards as often as they pleased, and "had as good a right to a woman as Coffin had."

In London, they courted a society lady named Sophonia Robinson, who published ardent poems about them, even borrowing a line from John Gay's The Beggar's Opera: "How happy could I be with either, were t'other dear charmer away!" The papers dubbed the affair the tale of "Romeo ... and Romeo ... and Juliet." A wag named Reuben Ramble circulated a cheeky broadside titled "A Word or Two with Chang, the Siamese Twin":

The lady's is a sorry case,
And really must dishearten her;
Why did you creep into her grace?
For you could not want a partner.

Already you'd your other half;
Why long, then, for three quarters?
Oh, Chang, you are too bad by half,
For any Yankee's daughters.

Yet should the lady take Eng too,
How sweet were your community;
And how astonished eyes would view
Your Trinity in Unity.

In another story, Eng's flirtation with a woman ended when Chang jealously interfered. The twins might have settled the matter with a duel, the papers quipped, "but the parties could not agree on a distance."

Later, it was reported that Chang had fallen in love with Catherine Bunker, the daughter of their New York City banker. Though she was already married, Chang bequeathed his fortune to her in his will.

And so on.

It was impossible to imagine one or the other of the brothers—or both—courting a woman without contemplating the practicalities. How could you hold an intimate conversation with a person who is physically attached to another? Much less kiss them.

Much less ...

The very idea confounded our minds.

Excerpted from The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline. Copyright © 2026 by Christina Baker Kline. Excerpted by permission of Mariner Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.