Maria Chapdelaine: A Tale of the Lake St. John Country

284 pp. ""Maria Chapdelaine" is a novel embodying the spirit of French Canada at its most lyrical, was based by the author on his experiences in the Lac Saint-Jean district of Québec. Church and farm provide a physical and symbolic setting for the romance, as the seasons and feast days provide a mythic temporal framework for its action. Following the death of her mother and that of her lover François Paradis, Maria must choose between two suitors: Lorenzo Surprenant, who tempts her with the riches of America, and Eutrope Gagnon, the boy next door. She unselfishly accepts Gagnon, thereby ensuring the survival of family and community and affirming the traditional values of rural French Canada." (Michele Lacombe writing for The Canadian Encyclopedia). This is the First Illustrated Edition with Illustrations and Page decorations throughout by Wilfred Jones...Louis Hémon (1880-1913) was born in Brest, France, moved to Canada in 1911. "Maria Chapdelaine" was his most successful novel and has been translated into more than 20 languages."