Pélagie: The Return to Acadie [Paperback]

Antonine Maillet (Author), Philip Stratford (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2004

In 1979, the legendary Acadian novelist Antonine Maillet won France’s most coveted literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for the original version of this novel, Pélagie-la-Charette. In her acceptance speech, she said, “I have avenged my ancestors.” Goose Lane Editions is proud to re-issue this classic of Acadian literature to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Acadie and the début of the novel’s musical adaptation, Pélagie: An Acadian Odyssey. Directed by Michael Shamata, the musical brings together the words and lyrics of Vincent de Tourdonnet and music by Allen Cole. It will be presented at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, from July 27 to August 22, following successful runs at CanStage’s Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto and The National Arts Centre in Ottawa. This funny, lyrical account of a daring Acadian widow’s journey home from exile is the Mother Courage of Acadian literature. At thirty-five, Pélagie is a survivor of the Great Disruption of 1755, when British soldiers deported Acadians who had farmed along the Bay of Fundy for generations. Splitting up families, the soldiers tossed men, women, and children pell-mell into ships and dispatched them to ports all along the eastern seaboard of the US and to Louisiana. When it was heard years later that the British would tolerate their return to Acadie, thousands loaded possessions and children onto handcarts and set out on foot. After fifteen years of working as a slave in the cotton fields of Georgia, Pélagie, too, has had enough. Drawn home as if by a magnet, inspired by her love of her family and of Beausoleil, a heroic sea captain, and determined to outrace the “Wagon of Death,” Pélagie sets off to take her people on a 3,000-mile trek back to their homeland. Her single cart, pulled by six oxen, soon attracts scattered Cormiers and LeBlancs, Landrys and Poiriers, Maillets and Légers. Together, this caravan of colourful Acadians undertakes a ten-year journey up the Atlantic coast to their childhood homes.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Pélagie: The Return to Acadie is the funny, lyrical tale of how a valiant widow leads her people out of exile. In 1755, British soldiers had forced them off their land and sent them as far from Acadie as possible. Twenty years later, the scattered Cormiers and LeBlancs, Landrys and Poiriers, Maillets and Légers find their way to Pélagie’s ox-cart caravan and head for home. As well as the remains of her own family, Pélagie embraces a runaway slave, a gruff midwife, a giant, a fool, and a hundred-year-old patriarch who strikes a daring bargain with Death. Through fair weather and foul, over mountains and rivers, Pélagie commands a ten-year odyssey up the Atlantic coast from Georgia to Acadie.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; No edition edition (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864924054
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924056
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.