Daut graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.A. in English and French in 2002 and went on to teach in Rouen, France as an Assistante d’Anglais before enrolling at the University of Notre Dame, where she earned a Ph.D. in English in 2009. Since graduating, she has taught Haitian and French colonial history and culture at the University of Miami, the Claremont Graduate University, and the University of Virginia, where she also became and remains series editor of New World Studies at UVA Press. In July 2022, she was appointed as Professor of French and African American Studies at Yale University.
She lives in the New Haven, CT area with her spouse and children.
ge6vtvr3pmjx9vzcfljklq1dgypwDr. Marlene Daut discusses her book “The First and Last King of Haiti” which focuses on the life and legacy of Haiti's only king, Henry Christophe.
zzsxh40f92ki6vmesy8myu01p7szYale University professor Marlene Daut discusses the life and legacy of slave, revolutionary, and king Henry Christophe and how the United States and other foreign powers reacted to the 1791 Haitian revolution.
oqqjy2lwi3qij58oakd0ax46hzygAs we continue to mark Black History Month, we're shining a light on Haiti's first and only king. From enslaved child to revolutionary war hero, Henry Christophe's life was anything but ordinary.
4n93gciltunbm6uixi529zyhqknhGerald Horne interviews Professor Marlene L. Daut about her important research and book entitled: "Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution."
2v7k99mh1dgo727af2838gz31zrdWhat We Reading sat with Marlene to talk about everything from Henry Christophe to the pride she feels as a public communicator.
hd28dokle0hk2t47k9rhyjl9uq2nMarlene Daut talks about her book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe on The Academic Life.
6bvyynnw4bwar7ztbrg74mvicawsBiographer Marlene L. Daut unpacks the complicated truths behind Christophe's life in her new book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe.
m73uz93n5gysqr4cc9axdtv5c3wwNathalie Frédéric Pierre, Assistant Professor of History at Howard University, interviews renowned historian Marlene L. Daut about her latest book
t69max0tjfr46rgiim8tjrsxstvpAuthor Marlene Daut talks about her new book The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe that details the life of a leader in the Haitian Revolution who later became the country's only monarch.
gr8525fvpgqr53y1j1rmvmcehxglProfessor of French and African American studies at Yale Marlene Daut discusses her book The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe and how the sovereign nation can overcome its bleak spiral as it struggles under political instability and gang violence.
ibg9rrzhzne49ugvz4buh95v12oj No discussion of 18th-century revolutions is complete without including the Haitian Revolution. We're joined this week by Marlene L. Daut to learn about Henry Christophe, a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti.
dynqi40ecbnfyplu2r6rvf0hh266Dr Marlene L. Daut, Professor of French and African-American Studies at Yale University and author of the new book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe, as well as Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution, joins us to tell the story of Marie-Louise, who was queen of Haiti from 1811 to 1820.
5o2kwnn4dexr2lo0m1unbwdrnustMarlene L. Daut, author of "The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe" (Knopf, 2025) on New Books Network.
01axmb27ojl84my1i6oph6h26y4l“Daut’s work is a definitive account of Christophe’s life, offering readers a nuanced understanding of a figure often obscured by myth.” — Politics and Rights Review
wggd82uguhfvbbtvyhcdrq2gz4n7 “…an overview of the entire revolutionary period. It’s a magnificent, sweeping work of history.” —Dana Snitzky, history and current affairs reviews editor, Publishers Weekly
woilk2lqublz2neisr7ep8pzuxvcThe First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut featured on What Is That Book About
3gudhryv1gie141efz3oqzpqnb4g“A tour de force. Daut brings King Henry Christophe vividly back to life in this deeply researched and rivetingly told biography. In a work overflowing with new archival discoveries and insights, she carries us expertly through a moment of revolutionary political thought and cultural transformation that reshaped our world and its possibilities. Everyone should know this history.”
94p99fqlyd58l8t4ggp9jnrimp36“In The First and Last King of Haiti, Marlene Daut, a Professor of French and African Diaspora Studies at Yale University, provides a full-scale biography of Christophe, set in the context of immensely consequential decades in Haiti’s history.” — Glenn C. Altschuler, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
fculm3911wan1a5mvg80vf40bu3u“In The First and Last King of Haiti, Yale scholar Marlene L. Daut explores the life of Henry Christophe, a complex figure in Haitian history. Born to an enslaved mother in Grenada, Christophe would go on to be a key leader in Haiti’s revolution for independence. Eventually, he would go on to declare himself King of Haiti, only to die by his own hand nine years later.” — Kendra Winchester, Book Riot
p7kg2ua0jpkz4wbsj7mb5t5svrse“Daut's deeply researched and nuanced portrayal is exactly the kind of underlying IP that a good screenwriter needs to craft a compelling script. It’s also a dream part for an actor.” — Andy Lewis
75m6hjqzgo3mw0zb69n3p8acqjnyMany details of Christophe’s life remain murky, but Daut’s research is outstanding. She has unearthed new sources in Caribbean and European archives, and she weighs all evidence carefully and reaches judicious conclusions. This book’s depth of detail may daunt general audiences, but it is a must-read for scholars.
018uhncvxv7hrfm0diygskeglc6fHaitian historical portrayals of the Revolution, in contrast to often misleading fictional representations, reveal the profound contributions of Haiti to anti-racism, human rights, and anti-colonial thought.
wudyb4qnke3x61okyih9e4g84dt6“By clearly chronicling Christophe's complexstory with detail and nuanced analysis, Daut portrays a crucial, if little-known leader and traces the deep roots of Haiti's ongoing struggles.”
i5v7nyg2jhv9dqighst6svv1rdv9The essential biography of the controversial rebel, traitor, and only king of Haiti. Henry Christophe is one of the most richly complex figures in the history of the Americas, and was, in his time, popular and famous the world over: in The First and Last King of Haiti, a brilliant, award-winning Yale scholar unravels the still controversial enigma that he was.
xhhodssab3o5bdl7agc3sdqpf6pv“Marlene L. Daut’s The First and Last King of Haiti (Knopf) is an impressively researched biography of Henry Christophe, a former lieutenant of Toussaint Louverture’s who became one of the leaders of post-revolutionary Haiti.”
lzuu702tkgzc5ymw2mh2nmpnb5lkAmsterdam Daily News says Marlene Daut offers an essential biography that explores the tumultuous life of one of the most controversial figures in the history of the Americas in “The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe.”
yvz409coqwfjhz134hc6nw156trbWhen asked by Elle magazine what currently sits on her her nightstand, Edwidge Danticat, author of a new collection called We’re Alone by Graywolf Press, responded: “The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut, a fascinating, in-depth, and meticulously researched biography of Haiti’s revolutionary-turned-king.”
7ymy2dgm77gobvzr37tr39mq0m2qMarlene Daut is a Professor of French and African American Studies at Yale University.
Since graduating with her Ph.D. in 2009, Marlene has written four books, including Tropics of Haiti: Race and the Literary History of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (Liverpool UP, 2015); Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism (Palgrave, 2017); Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution (UNC Press, 2023); and the forthcoming The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe (Knopf, 2025). Additionally, she has authored much public-facing work on Haitian history and culture and has appeared in over a dozen magazines, newspapers, and journals including, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Essence, The Nation, and the LA Review of Books.
ybjj9van6e8zcg04nbf1dflmuibiDaut (French and African diaspora studies, Yale Univ.) pens a monumental biography of Henry Christophe, the only king of Haiti. Born in 1767, Christophe was both globally famous and influential and changed the fates of nations in complex ways.
ls6bcup0d920wjbkxvcyee1hxrcuQueen Marie-Louise outlived most of her family, yet her story about the revolution and its aftermath was rarely consulted by those writing the era’s history.
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