A Discovery in My Library

A volume entitled Evangeline stood hidden on a shelf behind some storage containers. It’s a book of poems written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which I long intended to read but never took the time to do so. I discovered it a few days ago.

The narrative poem, Evangeline is the main feature of this volume and is based on history. Acadia was a French colony located in eastern Canada, the first European colony established in Canada which included Nova Scotia. During the conflict for control of North America between the British and French, Acadia surrendered to the British. However, when the French Acadians refused to take an oath of loyalty to the British king, the British deported 10,000 men, women, and children to southern colonies, tragically separating friends and families. Some of these people settled in what is now Louisiana, then a French colony, and today their descendants are known as Cajuns. Others eventually returned and settled in New Brunswick.

Evangeline is a tragic love story. Evangeline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse are newly betrothed when they are forced to leave their home in Acadia. Separated by the disorganized shuffle of deportation, Evangline spends the rest of her life searching for Gabriel. She is a woman of great faith, and she dedicates her life to God and in service to others. As an elderly Sister of Mercy, she is reunited with Gabriel on his deathbed.

Longfellow created a setting in Acadia of joy, peace, and beauty which contrasted with the ugly scenes of destruction of the Acadian community and the deportation. The characters are well-drawn, and the reader shares the young woman’s pain and hope. The plot pulls the reader into Evangeline’s search for her true love, and although the end is tragic, she is reunited with her love and is buried beside him when she dies. If you haven’t read the poem, I think you might enjoy it if you like historical romance. It was published in 1847 and established Longfellow’s popularity.

You might also like to read the Song of Acadia series written by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn. Two young women, one English and one French, form a friendship that has far-reaching and unexpected consequences.