Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie [Hardcover]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0864924062 | ISBN-13: 978-0864924063 | Publication Date: March 25, 2004 | Edition: No edition

In 1841, the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow heard the story of Acadian lovers, separated by the Expulsion and reunited at the end of their lives. He elaborated this simple tale into his long narrative poem, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie. Published in 1847, it soon gained worldwide popularity, and by 1865, both North American and European French versions were in print. In reinventing “the best illustration of the faithfulness and constancy of women that I have ever heard of or read,” Longfellow offered Acadians a believable story about their ancestors. They adopted it as a distillation of their history, a true legend of their past. The tragic story of Evangeline and Gabriel has captivated Acadians and non-Acadians ever since. Evangeline, the dutiful 17-year-old daughter of an elderly Grand Pré farmer, is in love with Gabriel, the blacksmith’s son. Before the two can exchange vows, British soldiers march into the village, burn it to the ground, order the villagers into ships, and send them far from their Nova Scotia homeland. In the mayhem, Evangeline witnesses her father’s death from a broken heart and loses sight of Gabriel. Her desperate continent-wide search for her childhood sweetheart — taking her from the cypress groves of Louisiana to a forest mission in the Ozark Mountains — is one of the most affecting accounts of unfulfilled love ever written. More phantom than woman by the end, Evangeline is a hero of mythic proportions. This sumptuously produced commemorative edition of Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie coincides with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Acadia. As well as the complete text of the poem, it features more than 40 engravings from an enchanting Victorian Evangeline published in 1866 by Bell and Daldy, London.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An aspired tribute of reflection..." -- The Word, Autumn 2000. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

A classic of romantic literature, Evangeline tells the story of a young Grand Pré couple separated by the Expulsion of the Acadians. From the cypress groves of Louisiana to the forests of the Ozarks and the plains of the Midwest, Evangeline’s heroic lifelong search for Gabriel ends with their tragic reunion. First published in 1847, Evangeline is one of the most affecting accounts of unfulfilled love ever written. In this edition, engravings from the 1866 Bell and Daldy edition illustrate Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s moving poem.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 103 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; No edition edition (March 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864924062
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924063
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #565,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical love poem, August 24, 2000

By 

"topaze15" (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evangeline (Paperback)

I am not going to sit here and claim to be the expert on English language poetic literature my 12th grade English teacher would like me to be. I have often fallen prey to the boredom of reading long poems and look upon poetry generally with some weariness.

When my father went to New Orleans, I asked him to bring me something back. He brought back a copy of this poem. It was required reading for my parents growing up - I had never heard of it.

I confess I was probably hesitant when I sat down to read it. But in no time I was hooked. The poetic language is perfectly styled to slowly tell the tale of two Acadian lovers doomed by the path of Acadian history to separate lives. Reading this poem is like suckling slowly on a sweet nectar under the gently rustling leaves of an oak on the side of a gently flowing river. If this sounds appealing to you, then you will enjoy this poem.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift or keepsake edition, March 25, 2008

By 

Smart Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie (Hardcover)

This edition of Evangeline is a beautiful book that is ideal if you would like to give it as a gift (or keep for yourself). It is a hardcover, beautifully decorated with gold colored print and flower designs. The spine is cloth covered. The poem is laid out attractively inside on ivory colored pages, illustrated with many black and white etchings throughout. A note in the back of the book states that the illustrations are by several artists and were "first brought together" in an edition published in London in 1866. Also noted is that this edition "follows the text of the Minehaha Edition, published in New York by Van Cleve-Andrews in 1895."

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, October 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Evangeline (Paperback)

I heard about this book from my mom a few weeks ago after I went to see the movie Serendipity. I told her about the plot of the two people in love searching for one another and just missing every time. She said it reminded her of another story, Evangeline. Since i attend an engineering school I am always very eager to read books with real meaning behind them, given that all my textbooks focus on is wastewater treatment, biological processes, etc... So given that I wasn't really expecting too much but a relief from textbooks when I picked up this book. Little did I know it was soon to become one of my favorites. I was pleasantly surprised by the Christian influences behind the poem and found myself crying a lot more than I expected. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a great appreciation for well written, romantic poetry and literature.