Bertrand Vac was the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

novelist and surgeon Aimé Pelletier (August 20, 1914 – July 23, 2010).Philip Fine
Montreal surgeon led parallel life as writer
. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', October 13, 2010; www.theglobeandmail.com Aimé Pelletier, writing as Bertrand Vac, developed a literary career while working for over fifty years at the Verdun General Hospital as a surgeon and, in semi-retirement, as a surgical assistant. His literary activities were initially hidden from his medical colleagues.

Early life and education

Pelletier was born the eighth of ten children to the local surgeon at

Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Joliette Regional County Municipality. History In 1803, the geographic township of Kildare was proclaimed, named after th ...

. The family later relocated to

Joliette Joliette is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of Greate ...

. Pelletier, originally wishing to become an architect, was persuaded to become a doctor by his father. Pelletier graduated from the

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

medical school in 1939.(Pelletier's obituary at the Union des Écrivaines et Écrivains Québecois states that he graduated from the Université de Montréal medical school, rather than the Université Laval.)

Career

Pelletier volunteered for service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was with the medical corps both during the war and until 1946. He worked in

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

s behind the front lines in France, particularly during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

, when he arrived in France as part of the

Normandy Invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

.Union des Écrivaines et Écrivains Québecois,
Obituary of Bertrand Vac
; www.uneq.qc.ca. Pelletier's pen name was developed in France. After the war, Pelletier chose to study surgery in Paris, where his colleagues preferred to call him "Bernard", rather than "Aimé". Vac was chosen as his literary surname because it represented the Hindu God of Speech. Pelletier wrote fourteen books during a sixty-year literary career, primarily with publisher ''Le cercle du livre de France'', later known ''Les Éditions Pierre Tisseyre''. He won the

Prix du Cercle du livre de France The Prix du Cercle du livre de France is a literary prize created by the Quebec publishing house Le Cercle du livre de France with the aim of promoting Quebec authors. From 1977 to 1985, the prize was offered by Esso Canada and was renamed Prix lit ...

on three occasions. Pelletier is believed to be the first Quebec writer to publish a

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

(''L'assassin dans l'hôpital'', 1956).
Supplement to the Oxford companion to Canadian history and literature
'. Oxford University Press; 1973. p. 308. As Bertrand Vac, Pelletier has been the subject of academic commentary and analysis. Pelletier wrote ''Louise Genest'' in 1950 and a satirical story ''Saint-Pépin, P.Q.'' in 1955. Belinda Jack.
Francophone Literatures: An Introductory Survey
'. OUP Oxford; 5 September 1996. . p. 79–. The themes of adultery in his early works were groundbreaking at that particular time in the history of Quebec literature. Many of his works are particularly referenced to Montreal's

Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré'' , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, Neighbourhood , image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = ''Rave ...

, where Pelletier lived for over half a century.Jacques Fortin.
L'Aventure, récit d'un éditeur
'. Québec Amerique; 2013-02-05T11:43:47-05:00. . p. 410–. None of his works have been translated from the original French. Pelletier died in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

; his ashes are interred at his ancestral cemetery, located in

Sainte-Mélanie, Quebec Sainte-Mélanie is a municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Joliette Regional County Municipality. It is located along the western shores of the L'Assomption River. History Sainte-Mélanie was formerly part of the ...

Bibliography

Original works

*2008 ''Que le diable m'emporte'' (memoir) *1998 ''À mon seul désir'' (with a focus on the society of

Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, Quebec Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon is a municipality in the D'Autray Regional County Municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada. History The first settlers, mostly Irish and Scottish Loyalists, came around 1825 to the shores of Lake Maskino ...

). *1992 ''Les voluptueuses'' *1991 ''Rue de Bullion'' *1988 ''Bizarres''(Commentary) *1974 ''Le carrefour des géants, Montréal 1820-1885'' (non-fiction essay) *1967 ''Mes pensées "profondes"'' {book of

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

s) *1965 ''Histoires galantes'' *1963 ''La favorite et le conquérant'' *1956 ''L'assassin dans l'hôpital''(Considered to be the first

published by a Quebec writer.) *1955 ''Saint-Pépin, P.Q.''(A

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

concerning the rural

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and political corruption, referenced to

) *1952 ''Deux portes ... une addresse'' (The story of a soldier returning to a domestic life in Canada that he finds boring, compared to his love affair with a woman in France.) *1950 ''Louise Genest'' (The story of a rural homemaker who escapes an abusive husband and falls in love with a

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

man.)

Anthology

*1989 ''Le Choix de Bertrand Vac dans son œuvre''

Other

*1987 ''Jean C. Lallemand raconte'': Memoirs of an industrialist, philanthropist and music patron, with the collaboration of Bertrand Vac. Jean Clovis Lallemand (1898-1987) was one of the founders of the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

, who also established prizes for musical composition and was a lifelong financial patron of classical music, particularly in Montreal and area. He was admitted to membership in the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1968. * 1967 ''Appelez-moi Amédée'' Unpublished play.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vac, Bertrand 1914 births 2010 deaths Writers from Quebec 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel from Quebec Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps officers