Suzanne Martel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Suzanne Martel
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Martel in the late 1970s
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| Born | Suzanne Chouinard October 8, 1924 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | July 29, 2012 (aged 87) Ste-Adèle, Quebec |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer, columnist |
| Genre | Canadian literature Children's literature, adventure fiction, science fiction |
| Spouse | Maurice Martel |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Monique Corriveau, sister |
Suzanne Martel (born October 8, 1924, died July 29, 2012) was a famous French Canadian writer. She wrote many books, especially for children and teenagers. She was also a journalist and loved to tell stories.
Contents
About Suzanne Martel
Her Early Life
Suzanne Martel grew up in Quebec City, Canada. Her father, Francis Xavier Chouinard, worked for the city. Her younger sister, Monique Corriveau, also became a well-known writer for teenagers.
Suzanne and Monique loved to read. They were especially amazed by the stories of Rudyard Kipling, like The Jungle Book. This inspired them to create their own imaginary world! They invented a country called Gotal. It was home to characters they called "People in the Wall."
Creating Imaginary Worlds
As children and teenagers, Suzanne and Monique wrote many adventures about their forty made-up characters. They knew these characters as well as their own family! They loved writing so much that their mom reportedly told them to write for no more than eight hours a day.
When they grew up, they continued to write about Gotal. Each sister chose a character from the Montcorbier family and wrote their adventures. This became a huge collection of stories, one of the biggest in Quebec's literary history. Before Monique Corriveau passed away in 1976, the sisters had written fifteen novels for each other about their heroes. Many of these stories are still not published.
Education and Career
Suzanne Martel studied at École des Ursulines, Quebec. Then, she continued her studies in literature and languages at the University of Toronto.
She started her career as a journalist. In 1945, she worked for a newspaper called Le Soleil. After that, she worked as a freelance writer, meaning she wrote for different places.
Family and First Book
After World War II, Suzanne Martel moved to Outremont, Quebec. She lived there with her husband, Maurice Martel, who was a lawyer. Suzanne and Maurice had six sons: Paul, Bernard, Luc, Éric, Alain-Anadi, and Yves. Her sons quickly became her first audience for her stories!
Suzanne Martel's first book came out in 1963. It was called Quatre Montréalais en l'an 3000. This was a science fiction novel for young adults. It was later published in English as The City Under Ground. This book won an award from the Canadian Association of French-language publishers. It's considered a classic children's book and is thought to be the first science fiction novel from Quebec. Some schools still study it today! It's also known by its revised title, Surréal 3000.
Later Career and Legacy
In 1971, Suzanne Martel started a weekly children's newspaper called Safari. It was part of the Montréal-Matin newspaper. She was the editor until 1974, when the newspaper was sold.
After that, Martel published many more novels. Her adventure stories made her one of the most important writers in Quebec and Canada.
Suzanne Martel passed away on July 29, 2012, surrounded by her family in Ste-Adèle.
Awards and Recognition
Suzanne Martel won many awards for her amazing books. Her book Jeanne, Fille du Roy, which was translated as The King's Daughter, is often read in high schools in Quebec and Ontario.
Here are some of the awards she received:
- Governor-General's Literary Awards (1994, for Une belle journée pour mourir)
- The Canada Council Children's Literature Prize (1982, for Nos amis robots)
- Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award (1981, for The King's Daughter)
- Air Canada Prize (1979, for a news story)
- Canadian Authors' Association Awards Program Vicky Metcalf Body of Work Award (1974)
- Alvine-Bélisle ASTED Prize (1974, for Jeanne, Fille du Roi)
- Province of Quebec Prize (1968, for Lis-moi la baleine)
- First Château Prize (1967, for Fille du Roi)
- Federal Centennial Prize (1967, for Un trop bon diable)
- ACELF Prize (1962, for Surréal 3000; 1963, for Lis-moi la baleine; 1979, for Nos amis robots)
Her Books
Suzanne Martel wrote many different kinds of books. Here are some of her most well-known works:
- Quatre Montréalais en l'an 3000 (1963)
- English title: The City Under Ground (1964)
- Surréal 3000 (1966) – a revised version of her first book
- English title: The City Underground (1982)
- Lis-moi la baleine (1966)
- Marmitons (1972) – a cookbook she wrote with her son, Alain Martel
- Jeanne, Fille du Roy (1974)
- English title: The King's Daughter (1980)
- Titralak, Cadet de l'espace (1974)
- Pi-Oui (1974)
- English title: Peewee (1982)
- Tout sur Noël (1977) – an activity book
- Goûte à tout (1977) – another cookbook
- Les coureurs des bois series (starting 1980)
- Menfou Carcajou (1980)
- La baie du Nord (1980)
- Une belle journée pour mourir (1980 or 1993?)
- Les chemins d'eau (1993?)
- Nos Amis Robots (1981)
- English title: Robot Alert (1985)
- Marguerite Bourgeois (1982)
- L'enfant de lumière (1983)
- Contes de Noël : contes d'autrefois pour les gens d'aujourd'hui (1984)
- Un orchestre dans l'espace (1985)
Suzanne Martel also wrote the Montcorbier series. She started these stories when she was a child with her sister, Monique Corriveau.
- A la découverte du Gotal (1979)
- L'apprentisage d'Arahéé – 1910 (1979)
- Première armes – 1918 (1979)
- Arnaud de Moncorbier – 1914 (1997)
- La musique de la lune – 1919 (1998)
- Les aigles d'argent – 1919 (1999)
Her books have been translated into many languages, including Spanish and Japanese. She also wrote some books just for her family and close friends. Her memoirs, which tell her life story, were also printed for her family.
