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Gabrielle Roy's Chronology (1909-1983)

1909 - Born on March 22 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba.

1915-1928 - Student at St.Joseph’s Academy in Saint-Boniface.

1928-1929 - Pedagogical Studies at the Winnipeg Normal School.

1929-1930 - First positions as teacher, first in Marchand then in Cardinal.

1930-1937 - Grade 1 teacher at the Provencher School in Saint-Boniface (school for boys); is also active with the Cercle Molière.

Summer 1937 - Temporary teaching position at WaterHen.

1937-1939 - England and France: drama classes; travelling.

1939-1945 - Upon her return from Europe, Gabrielle Roy settles in Québec and lives on the revenue she makes from the sales of texts to various Montreal papers. At this time, she begins writing Bonheur d’occasion; she lives primarily in Montreal but is often away to Rawdon and Port-Daniel..

Summer 1945 - Bonheur d’occasion is published in Montreal.

1947 - The english version of Bonheur d’occasion, The Tin Flute, is selected as the book of the month by the Literary Guild of America; in June, Universal Pictures buys the cinematographic rights; in August, Gabrielle weds Marcel Carbotte; in September she is honored by the Société royale du Canada; in November, Bonheur d’occasion is awarded the Prix Fémina.

1947-1950 - At the end of September 1947, Gabrielle Roy and her husband leave for Paris where they will remain for three years; Gabrielle travels to Britain, Switzerland, and England.

1950 - La Petite Poule d’Eau is published in Montreal; the following year, this book will be published in Paris, and its English language version, Where Nests the Water Hen, will be published in New York.

1950-1952 - Upon returning from France, the couple settles first in Ville Lasalle, then in Quebec where Gabrielle Roy will live for the rest of her life.

1954 - Alexandre Chenevert is published in Montreal and Paris; the following year, its English language version, The Cashier, is published.

1955 - Rue Deschambault is published in Montreal and Paris; its English language version, Street of Riches, is published in 1956. Gabrielle Roy receives the Gouvernor General of Canada Award.

1956 - Gabrielle Roy is awarded the “Prix Duvernay”.

1957 - Gabrielle Roy purchases a property at Petite-Rivière-Saint-François where she will henceforth spend her summers.

1961 - Travel to Ungava, then to Greece with her husband; La Montagne secrète is published in Montreal in the fall, the following year sees its Parisian publishing and the release of its English language version, The Hidden Mountain.

Winter 1964 - Sojourn in Arizona at the time of her sister Anna’s death.

1966 - La Route d’Altamont as well as its English language version, The Road Past Altamont, is published.

Summer 1967 - A text titled Terre des hommes is published in the Montreal Expo Album; in July, Gabrielle receives the Order of Canada Award.

1968 - Honorary Doctorate from Laval University.

1970 - In March, Gabrielle travels to St.Boniface to be with her dying sister, Bernadette; in the fall, La Rivière sans repos, and its English language version, Windflower, is published.

1971 - Gabrielle receives the “Prix David”.

1972 - Cet été qui chantait, for which the English language version, Enchanted Summer won’t be released until 1976, is published.

1975 - Un jardin au bout du monde, for which the English language version, Garden in the Wind won’t be released until 1977, is published.

1976 - Ma vache Bossie, a children’s book, is published.

1977 - Ces enfants de ma vie, which is given the Governor General’s Award, and for which the English language counterpart, Children of My Heart, will be released in 1979, is published.

1978 - Gabrielle Roy receives the Molson Award from the Canadian Arts Council; Fragiles Lumières de la terre for which the English language version The Fragile Lights of Earth won’t be released until 1982, is published.

1979 - Courte-Queue, a children’s book which receives the “Prix de littérature jeunesse” from the Canadian Arts Council, and for which the English language version Cliptail is released the following year, is published..

1982 - De Quoi t’ennuies-tu, Éveline? is published.

1983 - July 13 – Gabrielle Roy deceases at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Quebec.

1984 - La Détresse et l’Enchantement, an autobiography, is published.

jeune Gabrielle Roy
gabrielle roy | jeune sur balançoire
Gabrielle ROY portrait Zarov.
Gabrielle ROY | portrait Stanké
Gabrielle ROY by Karsh
Oeuvres

Gabrielle Roy's Work

Are mentioned, for each title :

  1. the first French-language edition published at Canada;

  2. the first edition published in France;

  3. the first English-language edition published in Canada, with its title and the name of the translator;

  4. the first edition published in the United States; et

  5. the current French-language edition currently available on le marché.

 

Second hand happiness, roman :

  1. Montreal, Société des Éditions Pascal, 1945 [2 vol.];

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1947;

  3. The Tin Flute, trans. Hannah Josephson, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1947;

  4. New York, Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947;

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1993, Boréal Compact collection no 50.

 

The Little Water Hen, roman :

  1. Montreal, Beauchemin, 1950;

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1951;

  3. Where Nests the Water Hen, trans. Harry L. Binsse, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1951;

  4. New York, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1951;

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1993, Boréal Compact collection no 48.

 

Alexandre Chenevert, roman :

  1. Montreal, Beauchemin, 1954;

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1955 [under thetitleAlexandre Chenevert, cashier];

  3. The Cashier, trans. Harry L. Binsse, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1955;

  4. New York, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1955;

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1995, Boréal Compact collection no 62.

 

Rue Deschambault, roman :

  1. Montreal, Beauchemin, 1955;

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1955;

  3. Street of Riches, trans. Harry L. Binsse, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1957;

  4. New York, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1957;

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1993, Boréal Compact collection no 46.

 

The Secret Mountain, roman :

  1. Montreal, Beauchemin, 1961;

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1962;

  3. The Hidden Mountain, trans. Harry L. Binsse, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1962;

  4. New York, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1962;

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1994, Boréal Compact collection no 53.

 

The Altamont Road, roman :

  1. Montreal, HMH Publishing, 1966; collection " L'Arbre " no 10;

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1967;

  3. The Road Past Altamont, trans. Joyce Marshall, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1966;

  4. New York, Harcourt Brace & World, 1966;

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1993, Boréal Compact collection no 47.

 

The Restless River, novel preceded by Trois nouvelles eskimos :

  1. Montreal, Beauchemin, 1970;

  2. Paris, Flammarion, 1972;

  3. Windflower, trans. Joyce Marshall, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1970 [without Eskimo News];

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1995, Boréal Compact collection no 63.

 

This summer that sang :

  1. Quebec, French Editions, 1972 [illustrations by Guy Lemieux];

  2. —

  3. Enchanted Summer, trans. Joyce Marshall, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1976;

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1993, Boréal Compact collection no 45.

 

A garden at the end of the world, nouvelles :

  1. Montreal, Beauchemin, 1975;

  2. —

  3. Garden in the Wind, trans. Alan Brown, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1977;

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1994, Boréal Compact collection no 54.

 

My Cow Bossie, Children's Tale :

  1. Montreal, Leméac, 1976 [illustrations by Louise Pomminville];

  2. —

  3. My Cow Bossie, trans. Alan Brown, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1988 [same illustrations as in edition Leméac];

  4. —

  5. in Tales for children, Montreal, Boréal, 1998.

 

These children of my life, roman :

  1. Montreal, Stanké, 1977;

  2. Paris, Éditions de Fallois, 1994 [preface by Yves Beauchemin];

  3. Children of My Heart, trans. Alan Brown, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1979;

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1993, Boréal Compact collection no 49.

 

Fragile Lights of the Earth, Miscellaneous Writings 1942-1970 :

  1. Montreal, Quinze, 1978, collection “ Prose entière ”;

  2. —

  3. The Fragile Lights of Earth, trans. Alan Brown, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1982;

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1996, Boréal Compact collection no 77.

 

Short-tail, children's story :

  1. Montreal, Stanké, 1979 [illustrations by François Olivier];

  2. —

  3. Cliptail, trans. Alan Brown, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1980 [same illustrations as in edition Stanké];

  4. —

  5. in Tales for children, Montreal, Boréal, 1998.

 

What are you bored of, Éveline?, histoire :

  1. Montreal, Éditions du Sentier, 1982 [woodcut and calligraphy by Martin Dufour];

  2. —

  3. —

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1988, Boréal Compact collection no 8 [followed by Ély! Ely! Ely!].

 

*Distress and Enchantment, autobiography :

  1. Montreal, Boreal, 1984;

  2. Paris, Arléa, 1986 [preface by Jean-Claude Guillebaud];

  3. Enchantment and Sorrow, trans. Patricia Claxton, Toronto, Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1987;

  4. —

  5. Montreal, Boréal, 1988, Boréal Compact collection no 7.

 

*The Spaniard and the Pekingese, story for children :

  1. Montreal, Boréal, 1986 [illustrations by Jean-Yves Ahern];

  2. —

  3. The Tortoiseshell and the Pekinese, trans. Patricia Claxton, Toronto, Doubleday Canada, 1989 [same illustrations as in edition Boréal];

  4. —

  5. in Tales for children, Montreal, Boréal, 1998 [illustrations by Jean-Yves Ahern].

 

My dear little sister, letters to Bernadette 1943-1970 :

  1. Montréal, Boréal, 1988 [edition prepared by François Ricard];

  2. —

  3. Letters to Bernadette, trans. Patricia Claxton, Toronto, Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1990;

  4. —

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