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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
  • 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

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Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 15 to 18
  • Grade: 10 to 12

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

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The Voyageur Classic Canadian Fiction 7-Book Bundle

All Else Is Folly / Pauline Johnson / The Town Below / Self Condemned / Storm Below / The Yellow Briar / Maria Chapdelaine

by (author) Peregrine Acland, Pauline Johnson, Roger Lemelin, Hugh Garner, Patrick Slater, Louis Hemon & Wyndham Lewis
foreword by Ford Madox Ford
introduction by Brian Busby, Michael Gnarowski, Paul Stuewe & Allan Pero
translated by W.H. Blake

The Voyageur Canadian Essays & Criticism 2-Book Bundle

Selected Writings, A.J.M. Smith / The Kindred of the Wild

by (author) A.J.M. Smith & Charles G.D. Roberts
introduction by Michael Gnarowski & James Polk

The Voyageur Canadian Biographies 5-Book Bundle

The Firebrand / Mrs. Simcoe's Diary / The Scalpel, the Sword / The Men of the Last Frontier / Pilgrims of the Wild

by (author) Grey Owl, Sydney Gordon, Mary Quayle Innis, Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe & William Kilbourn
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