• Reading age: 16 to 18

Born of Acadian parents at Louisbourg, Jeanne Dugas (1731-1817) and her husband Pierre Bois were among the founding families of the Acadian village of Chéticamp in 1785. Descended from one of the three most prominent families in Acadia, Jeanne Dugas and her family lived for more than thirty years under the threat of capture and deportation by the British militia and attacks by pirates and privateers.

In this historical fiction, we follow Jeanne Dugas's trials and tribulations from Louisbourg to Grand Pré (NS), to Port Toulouse and Mira (Cape Breton), Île-Saint-Jean (PEI), Remshic (NS), Restigouche (NB) and back again--often more than once. Finally captured by the British militia, she and her family were imprisoned for three years on George's Island, where three of her four children died. When released, they sought refuge on Île Madame (Cape Breton) and finally to the area now known as Chéticamp.

In many ways, the story of Jeanne Dugas and her family is the story of the Acadian peoples.

Cassie Deveaux Cohoon was born in the Acadian village of Chéticamp on Cape Breton Island. Her Acadian heritage goes back to the early days of Grand Pré on her father’s side and Beaubassin (now Amherst) on her mother’s. She has lived in New York City and Paris, France, and now makes her home in Montréal, Québec. She has worked as a freelance journalist and written family histories. Her first novel, Severine, told the story of a fictitious heroine of Acadia. In Jeanne Dugas of Acadia, the author tells the story of her own ancestor. One of Jeanne Dugas’ granddaughters married a son of Augustin Deveau, another founder of Chéticamp and the author’s paternal ancestor.

Cassie Deveaux Cohoon's profile page