Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to hear New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline on Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m. Kline will be discussing her new novel, The Foursome. The ticketed event will take place at The First Church in Belfast, which is located across the street from the bookshop. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.; the event will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.com.

"The Foursome is a boldly original reimagining of the astonishing true story of two sisters in nineteenth-century North Carolina—Kline’s own distant relatives—who married world-famous conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker from Siam," said a Left Bank Books news release.

The twins were a sensation when they arrived in Wilkes County in 1839 and, within months, they opened a general store, bought land, and began building a plantation. Then, they began looking for wives.

Sarah and Adelaide Yates, daughters of a once-prominent local family brought low by scandal, are drawn into their orbit. When the twins’ lives become entangled with theirs, they must navigate loyalty, longing, and identity in a world where everything—including race, class, and gender—is rigidly defined.

"Spanning five decades and unfolding against the backdrop of a fractured nation, The Foursome is both intimate and epic," said Left Bank.

According to the news release, Kline says she hesitated to take on this story because it was “thorny and complex, raising questions of identity, exploitation, race, and culture."

"My cousin, a librarian at Duke and our family genealogist, came to me after a Bunker family reunion and said what I’d been avoiding: ‘These women are our ancestors. If you don’t tell their story, who will?’” said Kline.

Kline is the author of ten novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Orphan Train, The Exiles, and A Piece of the World. Her novels have received the New England Society Book Award for Fiction and the Maine Literary Award among other prizes. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Born in England, Kline was raised in the American South and Maine. She lives in New York City and Southwest Harbor, Maine.

Admission to the event is by donation. Follow this link to reserve your seat.

Questions? Call Left Bank Books at 207-338-9009, or email info@leftbankbookshop.com.

Ample free parking is available in a City parking lot on Church Street across from the Church and on adjacent streets.