Twinkind: The Singular Significance of Twins

An arresting illustrated history of twins in mythology, science, and visual culture

Twins have captivated the imagination for centuries, occupying a unique place in our cultural and scientific history. Twinkind looks at twins in myth and legend; anatomy, sociology, and genetics; and as sources of spectacle, entertainment, and community.

Drawing on hundreds of striking and sometimes haunting illustrations, William Viney examines depictions of twins as protagonists in creation stories ranging from Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca in Aztec mythology to Artemis and Apollo in Greek legend. He describes how twins have featured prominently in scientific research across the centuries, but especially in the work of Francis Galton, whose study of twins on the behavioral question of heredity versus environment gave rise to the pseudoscience of eugenics in the late nineteenth century. Viney explores the representation of twins in art, photography, and film--from the works of Roger Ballen to the cinema of Stanley Kubrick--and delves into the darker meanings ascribed to twins across the millennia.

A visual journey like no other, this book sheds critical light on the competing visions of twins around the world and throughout history, showing how the lived experience of twinkind has elicited profound attraction and respect, but also puzzlement, fear, and fascination.

Author: William Viney
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 01/09/2024
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.75lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.70w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780691254753


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2023
Publishers Weekly 10/23/2023
Foreword 12/27/2023

About the Author
William Viney is a research associate at Imperial College London. He is the author of Twins: Superstitions and Marvels, Fantasies and Experiments and Waste: A Philosophy of Things. Himself a twin, he directed the documentary short film Twins on Twins.