Georges Charles-Jules Bugnet (1879 - 1981) was a French Canadian writer and plant

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

iser. He wrote poetry, stories, articles, plays and four novels, the most well known of which is ''La Forêt'' (English: ''The Forest''), published in 1935. His first two novels, ''Les Lys de sang'' (1922) and ''Nipsya'' (1924), were published under the pseudonym Henri Doutremont. He introduced the

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

'Thérèse Bugnet', named after his sister.

Early life

Bugnet was born in Chalon-sur-Saône, Burgundy, France on 23 February 1879. He initially studied toward a Christian priesthood, but left to attend the nearby Université du Dijon and then the Sorbonne in Paris. He worked as a journalist for the monthly publication ''La Croix'', and was briefly named editor-in-chief of ''La Croix de Haute-Savoie'', but then moved to Canada in 1904 with his new wife Julia, initially working in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, then moving to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in 1905. Georges and Julia had nine children, though the second child, Paul, died in infancy in a fire.

Literary career

Bugnet wrote novels, poetry, stories, essays, articles, diaries and plays. He had four novels published: ''Le Lys de sang'' (1923), ''Nipsya'' (1924), ''Siraf'' (1934) and ''La Forêt'' (1935). The first two were published under the ''nom de plume'' Henri Doutremont. His first poetry collection, ''Voix de la solitude'', was published in 1938. ''Poèmes'' was published in 1978. He had articles, poems and short stories published in both French and English in several periodicals, including ''Le Canada Français'' and ''Les Idées''. He was editor of ''l'Union'', the provincial French language paper, between 1924-29.

Botanical interests

Bugnet was a self-taught botanist interested in finding useful trees and shrubs which could survive the harsh Canadian winters and provide income to farmers. He catalogued the local flora and corresponded with professional botanists about them. He spent 25 years breeding roses; his 1950 introduction 'Thérèse Bugnet', an unusual hybrid involving three species, is still in commerce today. He also developed an apple which he called 'Paul Bugnet' and a plum called 'Claude Bugnet'. A forest reserve in Alberta is named after him, in honor of his

silvicultural Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

work.

Death and legacy

Bugnet died on 11 January 1981 in a nursing home in

St. Albert, Alberta St. Albert is a city in Alberta on the Sturgeon River northwest of the City of Edmonton. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is now the second-largest city in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. St. Albert first received its town ...

. He is remembered in the Georges Bugnet Award for Novel, which was set up in the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugnet, Georges 1879 births 1981 deaths Canadian male novelists Canadian horticulturists Canadian centenarians Franco-Albertan people Franco-Manitoban people French emigrants to Canada Men centenarians 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers