Antonine Maillet, Pélagie-la-Charrette [Pélagie: The Return to a Homeland ]

Denis Joseph Bourque (Université de Moncton)

Ed. by Emir Delic, Université Sainte-Anne
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.4: Canadian Writing and Culture: Francophone .
Vol. editors: Emir Delic (Université Sainte-Anne), Eftihia Mihelakis (Brandon University), Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1979

Places

Canada (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

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Antonine Maillet’s work was first brought to international attention with her novel

Pélagie-la-Charette

(1979), for which she was awarded the prestigious Prix Goncourt in Paris. This novel is based on the return from exile of a group of Acadians to their native homeland several years after their deportation to the American colonies in 1755. It was translated into English by Philip Stratford under the title

Pélagie: The Return to a Homeland

(1982).

In this historical novel, Maillet attempts to rewrite Acadian history from the point of view of comic popular culture. Until recent times, historians and writers had largely mythicized the great historical periods of Acadia, basing their views of Acadian history to a great extent on Longfellow’s mythic poem Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie

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2996 words

Citation: Bourque, Denis Joseph. "Pélagie-la-Charrette". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 April 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35726, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Antonine Maillet, Pélagie-la-Charrette [Pélagie: The Return to a Homeland ]

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