Louis Hémon(1880-1913)
- Writer
French author and novelist Louis Hémon was born in Brest, France, in 1880. His father was the Inspector-General of the University of Brest, and Louis was educated at the Ecole Coloniale, intending on a career in the diplomatic service. However, during his school days he wrote articles on sports events and some fiction stories for various Paris newspapers, and in 1906 he won a literary prize for one of his stories. He soon moved to London, England, where his writing career began to take off, and he met and married a local woman. However, the death of his wife in 1911 left him unable and unwilling to stay in London anymore, and he journeyed to Canada. He documented his travels in a journal, later published as "The Journal of Louis Hémon" (1924).
While in Canada he got a job as a laborer on a farm in Quebec. He stayed there for six months. During that time he met a woman named Eva Bouchard, who lived on a neighboring farm. Taken with her, he used her as the heroine for his most famous novel, "Maria Chapdelaine" (1921).
In 1913 he left the farm and headed west, looking for material for further stories. On July 8 of that year he was walking alongside a railroad track near Chapleau in Ontario when he was struck and killed by a passing train. He was buried in Chapleau.
While in Canada he got a job as a laborer on a farm in Quebec. He stayed there for six months. During that time he met a woman named Eva Bouchard, who lived on a neighboring farm. Taken with her, he used her as the heroine for his most famous novel, "Maria Chapdelaine" (1921).
In 1913 he left the farm and headed west, looking for material for further stories. On July 8 of that year he was walking alongside a railroad track near Chapleau in Ontario when he was struck and killed by a passing train. He was buried in Chapleau.
