'A global guide to the myths legends and science of twins ... spans sacred west African
sculptures mythology and 1920s flappers to present a community defined by both similarity and
uniqueness' Financial Times 'Beautiful and definitive' Chris van Tulleken The first illustrated
global exploration of the cultural significance of twins. The birth of twins is unusual.
Throughout history they have been revered as gods and reviled as monsters they have been
adored as amusing music hall double acts and feared as duplicitous criminals and they have
been studied by anthropologists and scientists engaged in the nature vs nurture debate and
genetic experiments. Their existence challenges the norm they are seen by singletons as
'other' and regarded with an equal measure of wonder and distrust. Do twins have special
powers? Does a twin birth present a good or bad omen? Are they telepathic? Should we fear the
appearance of the ghostly doppelganger? From the Aztec creation twins Quetzalcoatl and
Tezcatlipoca to the divine opposites of Greek myth Apollo and Artemis and from criminal gang
leaders the Kray twins to the disconcerting Grady twins in The Shining this visually arresting
and often disturbing book explores and interrogates twindom in all its facets in a wide range
of cultures and media from ancient times to today. The visual presentation of twins cultural
attitudes to twins and scientific uses of twins are examined within three broad themes: twins
of myth and legend and the instruction their stories provide the anatomical sociological and
scientific studies of twins from Galton to genetic engineering and twins as entertainers
sources of spectacle and community. Punctuating the cabinets of thematic imagery are nine
thought-provoking essays that provide considered analysis and intriguing investigation of the
myriad meanings responses to and uses of twinkind.
