Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon (January 12, 1829 – September 20, 1879), born Rosanna Eleanor Mullins, was a Canadian writer and poet. She was "one of the first

English-Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...

writers to depict

French Canada 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 Fre ...

in a way that earned the praise of, and resulted in her novels being read by, both anglophone and francophone

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Life

Leprohon was born on January 12, 1829, 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 ...

to Francis and Rosanna Mullins. The second daughter of a wealthy merchant, she was educated at the Convent of the Congregation of Notre Dame. She later wrote the poems "A Touching Ceremony" and "On the Death of the Same Reverend Nun" to honor the nuns and convent.Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon Biography
, ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'', Bookrags.com, Web, Jan. 31, 2010. She "published her first poetry, at age 17, in ''

Literary Garland ''Literary Garland'' was a Montreal-based literary magazine published by John Lovell and John Gibson. During its run from 1838 to 1851, it was the most successful literary magazine in Canada, and started the careers of many prominent Canadian liter ...

'', followed by serialized

novels of manners A novel of manners is a work of fiction that re-creates a social world, conveying with detailed observation the customs, values, and mores of a highly developed and complex society. The conventions of the society dominate the action of the story, ...

set in England, published annually from 1848 to 1851."John R. Sorfleet,
Leprohon, Rosanna Eleanor
" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 1202. ''Ida Beresford,'' her first novel, first ran in the ''Garland'' in nine instalments in 1848. The novel was praised by

Susanna Moodie Susanna Moodie (born Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Biography Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, ...

, who called it "a story written with great power and vigor" that promised its author "a bright wreath of fame." On June 17, 1851 Rosanna married Dr. Jean-Lucien Leprohon, and went to live with him in

Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champla ...

. Within a year she was pregnant; she would go on to have 13 children (of whom eight survived).Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon
" Old Poetry, Web, May 1, 2011. Her literary output suffered. By 1859, though she was back in Montreal and had resumed writing, with a new novel, ''Eveleen O'Donnell'', serialized in Boston magazine ''The Pilot.'' The experience of being married to a French-Canadian, and living in the heart of French Canada, gave her a perspective denied to most English Canadian novelists—one she put to use in her next novel, ''The Manor House of De Villerai: A Tale of Canada Under the French Dominion'', which was published in installments by the Montreal ''Family Herald'' in 1859-1860. In this novel, "Leprohon used a Canadian setting and depicted events of crucial importance in Canadian history. She depicted these events, furthermore, from the point of view of French Canadians," something new in English-Canadian literature. Leprohon continued to write of French Canada in her next two novels, ''Antoinette de Mirecourt or, Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing'', and ''Armand Durand or, A Promise Fulfilled'', which were published by Lovell in 1864 and 1868. "While Leprohon's earlier works have non-Canadian settings, these hreenovels are set in Quebec and effectively depict Québécois history and culture.""Rosanna Leprohon," Library and Archives Canada, CollectionsCanada.gc.ca, Web, May 2, 2011. All three of these Canadian novels "were well reviewed at the time of their first publication in both the English- and French-Canadian press." A French translation of each was quickly published, and all three "became part of both Canadian literatures." "''Le manoir de Villerai'' (Montréal, 1884) and the French translation of ''Armand Durand'' were still being published in the mid-1920s." "''Le Manoir de Villerai'' (installments 1851, book form 1861), frequently reprinted in French, has yet to appear in book form in the original English."Michele Lacomb,
Best-Sellers in French
" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 210-211. Five of Leprohon's poems were included in Edward Hartley's 1864 anthology, ''Selections from Canadian Poets.'' In 1867, the biographical dictionary ''Bibliotheca Canadensis'' said she had done "more almost than any other Canadian writer to foster and promote the growth of a national Literature." Another novel, ''Ada Dunmore'', was published in the ''Canadian Illustrated News'' in installments in 1869-70. "'Clive Weston's wedding anniversary' appeared in The Canadian Monthly and National Review in 1872. Leprohon's last published work, 'A school-girl friendship' (1877), was published in the ''Canadian Illustrated News'' in 1877." In

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

, ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' editor

John Reade John Reade (November 13, 1837 – March 26, 1919) was an Irish people, Irish-born Canadians, Canadian journalist, essayist, and poet once considered "the grand old man of Canadians, Canadian letters." He is best known as the literary editor of ...

edited a posthumous collected poems, ''The Poetical Works of Mrs. Leprohon'', also published by Lovell. A poem from the volume, "A Canadian Summer Evening," was included in W.D. Lighthall's 1889 anthology, ''

Songs of the Great Dominion ''Songs of the Great Dominion'' was a pioneering anthology of Canadian poetry published in 1889. The book's full title was ''Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada''.William Douw Light ...

.''William Douw Lighthall,
Songs of the Great Dominion
Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada'' (Walter Scott indsor Series 1889), Google Books, Web, Apr. 30, 2011.

Recognition

Leprohon's novels were popular in both English and French Canada in the late 19th century, and were still being reprinted in French in the mid-1920s. They gradually went out of fashion in the early 20th century, as literary styles changed. "Since 1970, however,"says the ''

Dictionary of Literary Biography The ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'' is a specialist biographical dictionary dedicated to literature. Published by Gale, the 375-volume setRogers, 106. covers a wide variety of literary topics, periods, and genres, with a focus on American an ...

'', "the life and works of Rosanna Eleanor Mullins Leprohon have been frequently noted and increasingly praised by critics and scholars of both English-and French-Canadian literature, and new editions of her works have been published."

Publications

English

*''Antoinette de Mirecourt: Or, Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing''. Montreal: John Lovell, 1864. **''Antoinette de Mirecourt: Or, Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing'': Ottawa: Carleton UP, 1989. **''Antoinette de Mirecourt: Or Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing.'' Toronto: McClelland & Stewart New Canadian Library, 2000. *''Armand Durand: or A Promise Fulfilled''. Montreal: John Lovell, 1868. **''Armand Durand: or A Promise Fulfilled'' Hardcover, Ottawa: Tecumseh Press, 1994. **''Armand Durand: or A Promise Fulfilled'' Softcover, Ottawa: Tecumseh Press, 1994. *''The Poetical Works of Mrs. Leprohon''. 1881.

French

*''Le manoir de Villerai.'' Montreal: Beauchemin, 1925Search results: Rosanna Leprohon
Open Library, Web, May 9, 2011.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leprohon, Rosanna Eleanor 1829 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Canadian novelists 19th-century Canadian poets 19th-century Canadian women writers Anglophone Quebec people Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Writers from Montreal Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century