THE Betty Stiven tombstone in Plymouth, Tobago, has been shrouded in mystery and intrigue for generations.
The epitaph on it reads, in part, “She was a mother without knowing it and a wife without letting her husband know it except by her kind indulgences to him,” continues to baffle locals and visitors alike.
And while the tombstone, one of the island’s tourist attractions, remains a major talking point, there has been a paucity of material about the life of this young, enslaved Tobagonian woman, her death and the inscription.
But that has changed.
Through their novella Sunsets For Betty, the Rev Israel D Gordon and Natasha Coker-Jones are hoping readers will not just gain insight into Stiven’s life, but also deepen their appreciation of Tobago’s history, particularly its plantation era.
“Today is history,” a beaming Coker-Jones said in brief remarks on Saturday during the launch of the publication at the Scarborough Library.
Coker-Jones is a Trinidad-born former journalist, author, trainer and entrepreneur. Sunsets For Betty is her fourth publication and Gordon’s first.
[caption id="attachment_1047979" align="alignnone" width="768"] Sunsets For Betty authors the Rev Israel Gordon and Natasha Coker-Jones share a word during the launch of the novella at Scarborough Library. -[/caption]
Coker-Jones said although she and Gordon were able to access some information for the historical novella through the heritage section of the library, they “determined there hasn’t been a significant body of work put together in a way that we have done it about the Betty Stiven tombstone.
“So this is definitely a first for Tobago, for the people of Trinidad and Tobago
.”
With Sunsets For Betty, she said, “All those words that I learnt about – cultural imperialism, cultural hegemony – back in my university days – it feels as though we are contributing to the reversal of all of that by putting out our own. And this is significant, that we could do something of this nature.”
Gordon, originally from Plymouth, conceptualised the idea of a book about the tombstone in 1994.
Like Coker-Jones, Gordon is also enthusiastic about the novella and its significance not just to Tobago but the country’s literary landscape.
“The mystery tombstone, a tourist attraction which has been visited by thousands over many years, has now assumed a new dimension,” he told a small audience. “It will now be found in homes and libraries across the world.
[caption id="attachment_1047980" align="alignnone" width="768"] The Rev Israel D Gordon, left, and Dr Charleston Thomas, technical adviser in the Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation at the launch of Sunsets For Betty. -[/caption]
“It is my expectation that this book will serve to increase the flow of visitors to the island, particularly from those countries by which it was colonised.
“It is also my expectation that this book, apart from increasing the flow, will be a resource for students from this entire hemisphere.”
Gordon described the publication as a
