Maria Chapdelaine Book

Louis Hemon was born in Brest, France, in 1880, and was raised in Paris where he studied at the lycee and 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 where he worked as a clerk and continued to send articles to sports papers and magazines in France. He was also developing his talent as a writer of fiction. He married an Anglo-Irish girl by whom he had a daughter, but mental illness caused the marriage to break up, and Hemon left his child in the care of family and sailed for Quebec in October 1911. Maria Chapdelaine, the quintessential novel of the rugged life of early French-Canadian colonists in the North Country, is based on Hemon's experiences as a hired hand in the Lake St. John/Saguenay country of Quebec. Powerful in its simplicity, it captures the essence of those virtues of faith and tenacity that are the key ingredients of "survivance". Translated into many languages, and with some two hundred plus editions, it is now enshrined as a classic of Canadian letters. A new introduction provides insights into Hemon's life.