Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie," tells the fictional story of a seventeen-year-old girl who searches for Gabriel, her lost love, amid the 1755 expulsion of the Acadians from maritime Canada.
Now, acclaimed novelist Cathie Pelletier, descended from Acadians herself, adapts the story with a more modern sensibility and retells it in novel form for readers of all ages. This prose retelling makes the story accessible and teachable for today's students.
At a time when immigration and migration are at the forefront of news cycles, the historic displacement of the Acadians deserves a deeper look.
Cathie Pelletier was born and raised on the banks of the St. John River, at the end of the road in Northern Maine. She is the author of twelve novels, including The Funeral Makers (a New York Times Notable Book), The Weight of Winter (winner of the New England Book Award) and Running the Bulls (winner of the Paterson Prize for Fiction). As K. C. McKinnon, she has written two novels, both of which became television films. Her latest book is Northeaster: A Story of Courage and Survival in the Blizzard of 1952. After years of living in Nashville, Tennessee, Toronto, Ontario, and Eastman, Quebec, she has returned to Allagash, Maine and the family homestead where she was born.