author
Philippe Aubert de Gaspé
1814–1841
Often credited with writing the first French-Canadian novel, this early Quebec writer packed journalism, satire, and sharp social observation into a life that ended far too soon. His best-known work, L’Influence d’un livre, helped open the door for French-language fiction in Canada.
1 Audiobook
L'influence d'un livre: Roman historique
by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé
About the author
Born in Quebec City in 1814, Philippe-Ignace-François Aubert de Gaspé was the son of Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé. He studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet and then worked as a stenographer and journalist, writing during a lively and turbulent period in Lower Canada.
He is best known for L’Influence d’un livre, published in 1837 and often described as the first French-Canadian or Québécois novel. The book mixes fantasy, folklore, and social satire, and it has kept an important place in Canadian literary history for that reason.
Aubert de Gaspé died in Halifax on March 7, 1841, at only 26 years old. Even with such a short life, he remains a notable figure in the beginnings of French-language fiction in Canada.