Maria Chapdelaine
A Tale of French Canada
- Publisher
- Dundurn Press
- Initial publish date
- Apr 2007
- Category
- Classics, Literary, Historical
- 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.
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.
