A Man of Sentiment: The Memoirs of Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspe, 1786-1871

Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, described by Canadian poet James Reaney as "a folkloric father figure" of Canadian Literature, became well-known to his contemporaries only at the end of his life, after the publication of his historical novel, Les Anciens Canadiens (1863). Delighted readers pressed him for more, and Mémoires, an imaginative recollection of time past, appeared in 1866. In this book, de Gaspé has preserved the essence of the eighteenth-century man. Wit and wisdom combine with sentiment to give the reader a glimpse of the Quebec of his youth, as well as the foibles of family, friends, and historical figures. A Man of Sentiment, now translated into English for the first time, is an affectionate rememberance of a vanished age and a remarkable literary testament.