Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Fiction Classics

Maria Chapdelaine

A Tale of French Canada

by (author) Louis Hemon

translated by W.H. Blake

introduction and notes by Michael Gnarowski

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2007
Category
Classics, Historical, Literary
Recommended Age
15 to 18
Recommended Grade
10 to 12
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550027129
    Publish Date
    Apr 2007
    List Price
    $19.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554885701
    Publish Date
    Apr 2007
    List Price
    $9.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781894908030
    Publish Date
    Mar 2005
    List Price
    $14.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Maria Chapdelaine, the quintessential novel of the rugged life of early French-Canadian colonists, is based on the author’s experiences as a hired hand in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area. A young woman living with her family on the Quebec frontier, Maria endures the hardships of isolation and climate. Maria must eventually choose between three suitors who represent very different ways of life: a trapper, a farmer, and a Parisian immigrant.

Powerful in its simplicity, this novel captures the essence of faith and tenacity, the key ingredients of survivance. Translated into many languages, Maria Chapdelaine is enshrined as a classic of Canadian letters. A new introduction by Michael Gnarowski examines its relevance and provides insights into Louis Hemon’s life.

About the authors

Louis Hemon was born in 1880 and was raised in Paris, where he qualified for the French Colonial Service. Unwilling to accept a posting to Africa, Hemon embarked on a career as a sports writer and moved to London. He sailed for Quebec in 1911 settling initially in Montreal. He wrote Maria Chapdelaine during his time working at a farm in the Lac Saint-Jean region and died when he was struck by a train at Chapleau, Ontario in 1913.

Louis Hemon's profile page

W.H. Blake's profile page

Michael Gnarowski co-edited The Making of Modern Poetry in Canada, compiled The Concise Bibliography of E nglish Canadian Literature, and edited the Critical Views on Canadian Writers Series for McGraw-Hill Ryerson. He has written for Encyclopedia Americana, The Canadian Encyclopedia, The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography, and The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry. Gnarowski is professor emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Michael Gnarowski's profile page

Other titles by

Related lists