In 1979, the legendary Acadian novelist Antonine Maillet won France's most coveted literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for the original version of this novel, Pélagie-la-Charette. In her acceptance speech, she said, "I have avenged my ancestors."

Goose Lane Editions is proud to re-issue this classic of Acadian literature to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Acadie and the début of the novel's musical adaptation, Pélagie: An Acadian Odyssey. Directed by Michael Shamata, the musical brings together the words and lyrics of Vincent de Tourdonnet and music by Allen Cole. It will be presented at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, from July 27 to August 22, following successful runs at CanStage's Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto and The National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

This funny, lyrical account of a daring Acadian widow's journey home from exile is the Mother Courage of Acadian literature. At thirty-five, Pélagie is a survivor of the Great Disruption of 1755, when British soldiers deported Acadians who had farmed along the Bay of Fundy for generations. Splitting up families, the soldiers tossed men, women, and children pell-mell into ships and dispatched them to ports all along the eastern seaboard of the US and to Louisiana. When it was heard years later that the British would tolerate their return to Acadie, thousands loaded possessions and children onto handcarts and set out on foot. After fifteen years of working as a slave in the cotton fields of Georgia, Pélagie, too, has had enough. Drawn home as if by a magnet, inspired by her love of her family and of Beausoleil, a heroic sea captain, and determined to outrace the "Wagon of Death," Pélagie sets off to take her people on a 3,000-mile trek back to their homeland. Her single cart, pulled by six oxen, soon attracts scattered Cormiers and LeBlancs, Landrys and Poiriers, Maillets and Légers. Together, this caravan of colourful Acadians undertakes a ten-year journey up the Atlantic coast to their childhood homes.

Born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick in 1929, Antonine Maillet is one of Canada's best-known writers both at home and abroad. The soul of contemporary Acadian literature, Maillet has been responsible for generating pride in her people through her stories depicting strong-willed Acadians. She is the author of dozens of books, including the award-winning and highly celebrated La Sagouine and The Tale of Don L'Orignal. She has also written children's books, radio and television scripts, and more than a dozen plays. Maillet was the first non-French citizen to win the prestigious Prix Goncourt for Pélagie-la-Charette. With that epic novel, she gained recognition for Acadia as she herself became more known throughout the world as a spokesperson for her people. Among her many literary prizes are the Prix France-Canada and the Governor General's Award. She is also a Companion of the Order of Canada (1982), Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Officer of the National Order of Québec, Officier des arts et des lettres and Officer des Palme's académiques in France, and Commandeur de l'Ordre du mérite culturel in Monaco. She has received honorary degrees from more than 25 universities in Canada and abroad and has served as chancellor of Université de Moncton, her alma mater.

Antonine Maillet's profile page

Philip Stratford (1927-1999) was a poet, a pioneer translator of Canadian literature and a professor emeritus of English at the Université de Montréal.

Philip Stratford's profile page

"Absolutely demands to be read aloud; it travels along to the bumpy rhythm of the ox cart... excellently translated."

<i>Telegraph Journal</i>

"As accurate as any translation can be... a rollicking read that may be truer to the spirit of 18th-century Acadians than many more historically accurate novels."

<i>Atlantic Books Today</i>