Philippe-Ignace-Francois Aubert de Gaspé, or simply Philippe Aubert de Gaspé (1814–7 March 1841) was a Canadian writer and is credited with writing the first
French Canadian
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
novel.
Career
Philippe-Ignace-Francois was tutored by his father
Philippe-Joseph and studied at the seminary of
Nicolet. He worked as a journalist at the ''
Quebec Mercury'' and ''
Le Canadien
''Le Canadien'' () was a French language newspaper published in Lower Canada from November 22, 1806 to March 14, 1810. Its motto was: ''"Nos institutions, notre langue et nos droits"'' (Our institutions, our language, our rights). It was released ...
''. He was sentenced to a month in prison in November 1835 after clashing with
Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, who questioned his integrity. In February of the following year, he unleashed a
stink bomb
A stink bomb, sometimes called a stinkpot, is a device designed to create an unpleasant smell. They range in effectiveness from being used as simple pranks to military grade malodorants or riot control chemical agents.
History
A stink bomb ...
of
asafoetida at the
National Assembly of Quebec.
While lying-low at his father's house he began writing his novel ''
L'influence d'un livre
''The Influence of a Book'' (french: L'influence d'un livre) is a novel by the Canadian writer Phillipe-Ignace François Aubert du Gaspé, first published in 1837. It is considered to be the first French Canadian novel, and although the book was n ...
''. The story is made up of various fictionalized historical events, legends and
folksongs which show the influence of father's recollections. Despite now being recognized as a major landmark in
Canadian literature, the book was not well received and Philippe died shortly afterwards in
Halifax where he was buried in front of the present-day Spring Garden Road Public Library.
Works
* ''Le chercheur de trésors ou L'influence d'un livre. roman.'' 183
online** Transl.
Claire Holden Rothman: ''The Influence of a Book.'' Robert Davies Publ. 1993 John Glassco Translation Award
References
External links
*
*
Canadian male novelists
Writers from Quebec
1841 deaths
1814 births
19th-century Canadian novelists
Canadian novelists in French
19th-century Canadian male writers
{{Quebec-writer-stub