Kipling became aware of the twins while researching a story.
Captains Courageous was published in 1896 and 1897 in
McClure's Magazine. His character of the cook, who mostly spoke Gaelic but also knew English, was based on John and George Maxwell. At the time readers of the story expressed disbelief that a black man could speak Gaelic. The cook, who is not named in the book, is also seen on a fishing boat "riding the jib-boom and shouting Gaelic to a friend as black as himself." The author
Clara Dennis wrote about the twins in her book Cape Breton Over and Don Pillar wrote about them in his book Out of the Limelight. ==References==