Gabrielle Roy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gabrielle Roy
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Gabrielle Roy, 1945
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| Born | March 22, 1909 Saint Boniface, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | July 13, 1983 (aged 74) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation | Novelist, teacher |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Canadian literature Children's literature |
| Literary movement | CanLit Feminism |
| Notable works |
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Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909 – July 13, 1983) was a famous Canadian writer. She came from St. Boniface, Manitoba. Gabrielle Roy is known as one of the most important authors in French-Canadian literature.
Contents
Her Early Life
Gabrielle Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface. This area is now part of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was one of eleven children in her family. She went to school at the Académie Saint-Joseph.
It is said that Gabrielle started writing when she was very young. She lived on a street called rue Deschambault. This house and neighborhood in Saint-Boniface later inspired one of her most famous books. Today, her childhood home is a National Historic Site and a museum in Winnipeg.
Her Career as a Writer
After finishing her teacher training, Gabrielle Roy taught in small schools. She worked in places like Marchand and Cardinal. Later, she taught at a college in Saint Boniface.
She saved her money to travel to Europe. But she had to return to Canada in 1939. This was because World War II had just started. She came back with some of her stories almost finished. She then moved to Quebec and worked as a sketch artist while she kept writing.
Her first novel, Bonheur d'occasion, came out in 1945. This book showed a very real picture of life. It was about people living in Saint-Henri, a working-class neighborhood in Montreal. The book made many people in Quebec think deeply about their society. It helped set the stage for Quebec's Quiet Revolution in the 1960s.
The French version of the book won a big award called the Prix Femina in 1947. When it was published in English, it was called The Tin Flute (1947). This English version also won the 1947 Governor General's Award for fiction. It also received the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal. The Tin Flute became very popular in the United States. It sold over 750,000 copies. The Literary Guild of America even made it their "book of the month." Because of all the attention, Gabrielle Roy went back to Manitoba to get away from the public eye.
In August 1947, she married Marcel Carbotte, a doctor from Saint Boniface. They went to Europe, where Marcel studied medicine. Gabrielle spent her time there writing.
Her second novel was Where Nests the Water Hen. This book tells a gentle and understanding story. It shows the simple beauty and energy of a place with few people.
Another one of her novels, Alexandre Chenevert (1954), also received great praise. It is a deep and emotional story. Many consider it one of the most important books about psychological realism in Canadian literature.
Many people believe Gabrielle Roy is one of the most important Francophone writers in Canadian history. She is also seen as one of Canada's most influential authors. In 1963, she was part of a group that chose the theme for Expo 67. This was a big world's fair in Montreal. Her idea was to use the title Terre des hommes (which means Man and His World) from a 1939 book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In 2016, famous author Margaret Atwood wrote about Gabrielle Roy. Atwood said that Roy's books are still very important today.
Gabrielle Roy passed away in 1983 when she was 74 years old. Her autobiography, La Détresse et l'enchantement, was published after her death. It was translated into English as Enchantment and Sorrow by Patricia Claxton. Patricia Claxton is a well-known translator from Quebec. Her translation of Roy's autobiography won the Governor General's Award in 1987. This autobiography tells the story of Gabrielle Roy's life. It covers her childhood in Manitoba up to when she moved to Quebec.
The movie Tramp at the Door (1985) was based on one of Roy's short stories. It was made to honor her memory.
Awards and Recognition
Gabrielle Roy received many awards for her writing:
- 1947 – Prix Femina for Bonheur d'occasion (The Tin Flute)
- 1947 – Governor General's Award for Fiction for The Tin Flute
- 1967 – She became a Companion of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest honors.
- 1979 – Her book Courte-Queue won the Canada Council Children's Literature Prize. It was translated as Cliptail.
- 2004 – A $20 Canadian bank note was released with a quote from her 1961 book The Hidden Mountain.
- 2007 – Her book Children of My Heart was chosen for the 2007 Canada Reads competition.
She won the Governor General's Award three times. She also won the Prix David twice, the Prix Duvernay, and the Molson Prize.
The National Library of Canada has kept many of her materials. These include her original writings, letters, and other important items. They cover her life from 1940 to 1983.
Schools Named After Her
Several schools and a college campus are named in honor of Gabrielle Roy:
- École/Collège régional Gabrielle-Roy in Île-des-Chênes, Manitoba.
- École élémentaire publique Gabrielle-Roy in Gloucester, Ontario.
- École Gabrielle-Roy in Toronto, Ontario.
- École Gabrielle-Roy in Surrey, British Columbia.
- École publique Gabrielle-Roy in Edmonton, Alberta.
- Gabrielle-Roy, the main campus of CEGEP de l'Outaouais in Quebec.
- École Gabrielle Roy in Chateauguay, Quebec.
Selected Books by Gabrielle Roy
- The Tin Flute (Bonheur d'occasion) (1945)
- Where Nests the Water Hen (La Petite Poule d'Eau) (1950)
- The Cashier (Alexandre Chenevert) (1954)
- Street of Riches (Rue Deschambault) (1955)
- The Hidden Mountain (La Montagne secrète) (1961)
- The Road Past Altamont (La Route d'Altamont) (1966)
- Windflower (La Rivière sans repos) (1970)
- Enchanted Summer (Cet été qui chantait) (1972)
- Garden in the Wind (Un jardin au bout du monde) (1975)
- My Cow Bossie (Ma vache Bossie) (1976)
- Children of My Heart (Ces Enfants de ma vie) (1977)
- The Fragile Lights of Earth (Fragiles lumières de la Terre) (1978)
- Cliptail (Courte-Queue) (1979)
- Enchantment and Sorrow (La Détresse et l'enchantement) (1984)
- The Tortoiseshell and the Pekinese (L'Espagnole et la Pékinoise) (1987)
See Also
- La Maison Gabrielle Roy is a museum in Gabrielle Roy's childhood home in St. Boniface, Manitoba.
