44 Chausée des Écossais
Any way you read it…the novel is still able to instruct and delight.
–Borealis Press
Come learn about Canada’s first novel at our half-day symposium aimed to inform and delight. We ask: what value is there in reading Frances Brooke’s The History of Emily Montague today?
First published in 1769 and set in what eventually became Quebec City, this epistolary novel gives an intimate glimpse of social life just after the British conquest of New France. It is inspired by the writer’s own experience.
Offering insights on relations among the English, the Canadiens, and the Huron-Wendat, the novel reveals both progressive views and racial prejudices of the period through interwoven love stories. It sheds light on a complicated colonial past whose legacy continues to challenge us. The invited speakers will help us address important facets of the novel: Donald Fyson (specialist in 18th–20th century Quebec history at Université Laval), Linda M. Morra (specialist in Canadian women’s literature at Bishop’s University), Jean-Philip Rochon Paul (Huron-Wendat Nation), Peter Sabor (Canada Research Chair in Eighteenth-Century Studies at McGill University), and Philip Sioui (Huron-Wendat Nation).
The talks will be accompanied by dramatic readings. A character actor and a touch of period music will add a flavour of the time. Whether you have read the novel or not, whether you are a member of the public or a specialist in the field, you are sure to come away with new perspectives on a novel which has continued to engage generations of readers.
More information about the presenters and their talks coming soon!
To register for this FREE event, click HERE.
For a complete list of The History of Emily Montague activities, please click HERE.
For more about the LHSQ200th activities, please click HERE.
This activity is in celebration of Frances Brooke’s 300th birthday as well as the LHSQ’s 200th anniversary. It is in partnership with the English literature program in the Département de littérature, théâtre et cinéma at Université Laval, the Huron-Wendat Nation, and CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence.
Thank you to the Government of Canada for their support.
Image 1: Frances Brooke by Catherine Read, Oil on canvas (c. 1771), Library and Archives Canada, 1981-88-1, e011154587
Image 2: Frances Brooke by James Hopwood Sr., Stipple engraving (1812), National Portrait Gallery, D14044