Josephine-Eleonore d'Estimauville (1816-1893)

''Kamouraska'' (1970) is a historical novel written by Canadian

Anne Hébert Anne Hébert (pronounced in French) (August 1, 1916 – January 22, 2000), was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award, three times, twice for fiction and once for poetry. Early life Hébe ...

. Written in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, the book has been translated into many languages. Set in 19th century

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 thirte ...

, it tells the story of Elisabeth D’Aulnières, who conspires with her lover, an American doctor, to kill her husband, the seigneur of Kamouraska in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The narrative begins with Elisabeth beside the deathbed of her second husband, Jérôme Rolland, a notary. The story is told in a series of flashbacks. The narrative begins in the third person, but later switches to the viewpoint of Elisabeth telling her story in the first person. The book is used in many schools for the study of novels. The story is based on events surrounding the 1838 murder of Achille Taché, seigneur of Kamouraska, by George Holmes, an American doctor. He was said to be in love with Taché's wife, Josephte-Joséphine-Eléonore d'Estimauville; Holmes and d'Estimauville were both living in Sorel, Quebec at the time. Holmes fled to the United States to evade the 1839 trial, and d'Estimauville was acquitted by the jury of any role in the killing of her husband. The book sold 30,000 copies in France in 1970. The book was nominated for the

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

in 1970, and won the Prix des libraires in 1971. The book was translated into English by Norman Shapiro, a professor at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

. In 1973 the novel was adapted as a film of the same name directed by

Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.

. It starred

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...

and

Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993) was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films include '' Logan's Run'', ''Les Misér ...

. Jutra and Hébert collaborated on the screenplay. Charles Wilson adapted the book as an opera in three acts, to his own libretto; it was premiered in concert in Toronto in 1979.

References

Brian Busby Brian John Busby (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian literary historian and anthologist. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, he attended John Abbott College and Concordia University. Busby began his writing career writing daytime soap opera ...

, ''Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit'' (2003) - 1970 Canadian novels Fiction set in 1838 Novels by Anne Hébert Canadian French-language novels Novels set in Quebec Canadian historical novels Canadian novels adapted into films Novels set in the 1830s 1838 in Canada Novels adapted into operas {{Canada-novel-stub