Emeric Bergeaud dies in exile before his novel is printed

Emeric Bergeaud died on the island of Saint Thomas on 23 February 1858. He was born at Les Cayes around 1818 and served as secretary to General Jérôme-Maximilien Borgella. He joined a revolt against Emperor Faustin Soulouque, lost, and was driven off the island. In exile he wrote Stella, an allegory of the revolution, and it became the first Haitian novel. It was published in 1859, the year after he died. He never held the book in his hands.