Evelyn Sybil Mary Eaton (22 December 1902 – 17 July 1983) was a Canadian novelist, short-story writer, poet and academic known for her early novels set in New France, and later writings which explored spirituality.

Life account

Born in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

, Switzerland, Eaton was the daughter of Canadians Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Isaac Vernon Eaton, an army officer from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, and Myra Fitzrandolph of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Eaton was the younger of two daughters. Lt.-Col. Eaton was killed in 1917, while directing the artillery assault at the battle of

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

in France, when Evelyn Eaton was just 14. Evelyn's older sister, Helen Moira, would marry Sir John Lindsay Dashwood of the

Dashwood Baronets There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Dashwood family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. Both creations are extant as of 2008. Dashwood baronetcy in Baronetage of England The Dashw ...

. Educated at the Netherwood School in Rothesay, New Brunswick, Heathfield School in Ascot, England, and at the Sorbonne in Paris, Eaton rejected many of the social conventions of her time and class, giving birth out of wedlock to a daughter while at the Sorbonne. She wrote poetry from an early age, publishing the first, "The Interpreter", in 1923. Two novels written in 1938 and 1939 received little notice, but in 1940, the publication of ''Quietly My Captain Waits'', a novel set in

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

(now

) in the early days of French settlement (

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

), brought her commercial success. She became an American citizen in 1945. A series of novels set in New France followed, as did a teaching appointment at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1949–1951, a Visiting Lecturership at

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a private women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in memory of her deceased daughter, Daisy. The college formally opened its doors in 1906 and granted the B.A. deg ...

, Virginia from 1951–1960, and a position as Writer in Residence with the Huntingdon Hartford Foundation in 1960 and 1962. Eaton's 1965 novel ''The King Is A Witch'' is a historical novel about King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

. ''The King Is A Witch'' depicts Edward and some of his retinue as secret followers of a pre-Christian "Old Faith". The novel was influenced by the ideas of

James George Frazer Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janua ...

and Margaret Murray.Huckvale, David. ''A Green and Pagan Land : Myth, Magic and Landscape in British film and television'', (p. 24, 146) As described in 1974 autobiography, ''The Trees and Fields Went the Other Way'' Eaton had always felt that she had some Native American or First Nations heritage, and in the 1950s she began to read books about

Native American religion Native American religions are the spiritual practices of the Native Americans in the United States. Ceremonial ways can vary widely and are based on the differing histories and beliefs of individual nations, tribes and bands. Early European ...

s. A series of short stories published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', four more novels, a volume of poetry, and a Ballet-oratorio would grow out of Eaton's continuing promotion of what she believed were First Nations' spiritual practices. In 1966, the Evelyn Sybil Mary Eaton Collection, a repository for her books, manuscripts, and personal papers, was established in the

Mugar Memorial Library The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Partial bibliography

*1923:''The Interpreter '' *1925:''The Encircling Mist'' *1928:''Hours of Isis'' *1938:''Summer Dust'' *1938:''Pray to the Earth'' *1940:''Quietly My Captain Waits'' *1942:''Restless are the Sails'' *1943:''Birds before Dawn'' *1943:''The Sea is So Wide'' *1945:''In What Torn Ship'' *1946:''Journey to a War '' *1946:''The Heart in Pilgrimage'' *1946:''Every Month was May'' *1949:''The North Star is Nearer'' *1950:''Give Me Your Golden Hand'' *1952:''By Just Exchange'' *1954:''Flight '' *1955:''The Small Hour'' *1959:''I Saw My Mortal Sight'' *1965:''The King is a Witch'' *1967:''The Progression'' a Ballet-oratorio *1969:''Go ask the River'' *1971:''Love is Recognition'' *1974:''The Trees and Fields Went the Other Way'' *1974:''Snowy Earth Comes Gliding'' *1978:''I Send a Voice'' *1982:''The Shaman and the Medicine Wheel'' *1988:''Joy Before Night, the Last Years of Evelyn Eaton'' A biography of Evelyn Eaton, written by her daughter Terry Eaton

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Evelyn 1902 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian historical novelists Canadian women poets Canadian women short story writers Canadian women novelists University of Paris alumni Columbia University faculty Sweet Briar College faculty Writers from Nova Scotia Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian expatriates in Switzerland 20th-century Canadian women writers People from Montreux 20th-century Canadian short story writers Women historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Canadian expatriates in France

Life account

Partial bibliography

See also

References