Books, Biographies & Memoirs, Regional Canada, Quebec

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Michel Roy
Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else
by Wiley (Hardcover)

The bestselling bio of NHL Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy--now in a new English-language edition Published in Canada in November 2007, the French-language version of this book, Le Guerrier, became an instant hit, quickly selling out its first print run. For fans of Patrick Roy, the legendary NHL goalie, the book provided the first truly intimate, no-holds-barred look at the early life and meteoric rise of their hero, told from a unique perspective: his father's. Written by Michel Roy, himself an impassioned hockey fan, Patrick Roy offers keen insights on Patrick's indomitable will to win, how he revolutionized goaltending and popularized the butterfly style, as well as his faults and difficulties, including the heartbreaking move from Montreal that nearly broke his spirit. Michel Roy (Knowlton, QC, Canada) is an author and Chair of Telefilm Canada. He is a former film editor, was Deputy Minister of Tourism for Quebec, and has recently produced two jazz albums.

Afua Cooper
The Hanging of Angélique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal (Race in the Atlantic World, 1700-1900) (Race in the Atlantic World, 1700-1900)
by University of Georgia Press (Paperback)

During the night of April 10, 1734, Montréal burned. Marie-Joseph Angélique, a twenty-nine-year-old slave, was arrested, tried, and found guilty of starting the blaze that consumed forty-six buildings. Suspecting that she had not acted alone and angered that she had maintained her innocence, Angélique's condemners tortured her after the trial. She confessed but named no accomplices. Before Angélique was hanged, she was paraded through the city. Afterward, her corpse was burned. Angélique, who had been born in Portugal, faded into the shadows of Canadian history, vaguely remembered as the alleged arsonist behind an early catastrophic fire.The result of fifteen years of research, The Hanging of Angélique vividly tells the story of this strong-willed woman. Afua Cooper draws on extensive trial records that offer, in Angélique's own words, a detailed portrait of her life and a sense of what slavery was like in Canada at the time. ...

J. Patrick Wohler
Charles de Salaberry: Soldier of the Empire, Defender of Quebec (Dundurn Lives)
by Dundurn Press (Hardcover)

Charles de Salaberry (1778-1829) was a brilliant military figure who played a vital role in the War of 1812. A French-Canadian, he attained both rank and honour in the British army. He was a hero of Chateauguay and instrumental in the formation of the Canadian Voltigeurs and a respected advocate of French-Canadian rights. This book paints a vivid picture of a man whose pride and honour were part of an ancient family tradition, whose accomplishments were unique in the history of Lower Canada.

Daniel Alef
John Jacob Astor: America's First Millionaire (Titans of Fortune Articles)
by Titans of Fortune Publishing (Kindle Edition)

Biographical profile of America's first millionaire, John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant who arrived in Manhattan with five English pounds in his pocket and amassed ownership of large swaths of Manhattan en route to becoming the largest and wealthiest landholder in New York. Astor established a major fur trading firm that extended its operations across the nation, helping blaze the Oregon Trail. He founded Astoria in 1811, the first American settlement on the West Coast. His ships crossed the Pacific and engaged in trade with China--including opium--but he shifted to a more lucrative commodity--liquor--as a means of exchange with Indians for fur. Although opposed to the War of 1812, when the U.S. faced a $17 million deficit, Astor advanced nearly $10 million to cover part of it. He earned the gratitude of the nation, and a bundle from war bonds. "The only hard step in building up my fortune," he said, "was the first thousand dollars." His biography, "Astoria," was written by ...

Wendell MacLeod, Libbie Park, Stanley Ryerson
Bethune: The Montreal Years
by Lorimer (Hardcover) (Release Date: 1978-01-01)

Three of Norman Bethune's close Montreal friends and associates from the Thirties collaborated to write this informal portrait of Bethune during a critical and fascinating period of his life.Soon after Bethune's 1928 return from the United States to Canada, Montreal fell into the grip of the Depression. His research soon showed a correlation between worsening economic conditions and an increase in the number of tuberculosis victims in the city. Like many other intellectuals and professionals, he was drawn towards the political left as he tried to understand the basis for the economic crisis. These experiences led him to Russia, to Spain and finally to China, each journey strengthening his growing political convictions.The authors of Bethune: The Montreal Years were all involved with Norman Bethune and his work during this period. Each provides a unique personal portrait of Bethune, his friends and his work, and together they convey their great affection and respect for this ...

Ramsay Cook
Canada, Quebec, and the Uses of Nationalism
by McClelland & Stewart (Paperback) (Release Date: 1995-05-27)

Donald J. Horton
Andre Laurendeau: French Canadian Nationalist 1912-1968
by Oxford University Press, USA (Hardcover)

Andre Laurendeau was that rarest of Canadian personalities--"a man for all seasons." Known in Quebec as a leading nationalist activist and theorist through the critical decades of societal change from the 1930s to the 1960s, his own generation especially recalled his public role as an anti-conscription dissident and provincial politician during World War II. Younger French Canadians related to him as a gifted political journalist; a media figure in both radio and television; a novelist and tele-theatre dramatist; and through it all, "an engaged intellectual." English Canadians remember him as editor of Montreal's French language newspaper Le Devoir and as co-chairman of the 1960's Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. He was a French Canadian, in other words, whose life story mirrors, in both actions and insights, the agonizing struggle of his people to become modern while remaining distinct.

Michael P. Gabriel, Francois Baby, Gabriel Elzeard Taschereau, Jenkin Williams
Quebec During The American Invasion, 1775-1776: The Journal Of Francois Baby, Gabriel Taschereau, And Jenkin Williams
by Michigan State University Press (Paperback)

Available for the first time in English, the 1776 journal of Francois Baby, Gabriel Taschereau, and Jenkin Williams provides an insight into the failure to incite rebellion in Quebec by American revolutionaries. While other sources have shown how British soldiers and civilians and the French-Canadian gentry (the seigneurs) responded to the American invasion of 1775-1776, this journal focuses on French-Canadian peasants, les habitants, who made up the vast majority of the population; in other words, the journal helps explain why Quebec did not become the "fourteenth colony." After American forces were expelied from Quebec in early 1776, British governor Sir Guy Carleton sent three trusted envoys to discover who collaborated with the rebels from the south. They traveled to fifty-six parishes and missions in the Quebec and Trois Rivieres district, discharging disloyal militia officers, and replacing them with faithful subjects. They prepared a report on each parish, revealing ...

Anne Newlands
Clarence Gagnon: An Introduction to His Life and Art
by Firefly Books (Paperback)

Born in 1881 in a small village north of Montreal, Clarence Gagnon is best known for his paintings of sun-drenched winter landscapes and for the colorful illustrations for Louis Hémon's novel, Maria Chapdelaine. Clarence Gagnon: An Introduction to His Life and Art is a richly illustrated, insightful look at a complex individual. Despite living in France for much of his adult life, Gagnon's love for his native Quebec is evident in his art. His simple, realistic style of painting captures the old traditions and peaceful rural splendor of Quebec's Laurentian Mountains and Charlevoix region at the end of the 19th century. The book traces Gagnon's early life and influences, examining his career as an illustrator and his development as an artist. Included here are excerpts from Gagnon's personal letters, which reveal his astute observations of life, art and politics. Liberally illustrated with Gagnon's sublimely executed paintings -- many never before published together ...

John Kalbfleisch
This Island in Time: Remarkable Tales from Montreal's Past
by Vehicule Press (Paperback)

This account of spies, zealots, royal tourists, and people on the brink of death provides a unique and extraordinary history of Montreal. From the city’s founding nearly four centuries ago down to the present day, an astonishing range of people have trod its streets. Priests and princes, heroes and the humble, financial wizards and outright fools—all have their stories to be told.

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