| Author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Publication Year | |
| Publisher |
"The Legend of Rose Latulipe" 1837
From: The Quebec Anthology
$0.42
The novel is a work of fantasy and folklore, a blend of the surreal and the macabre that relates the story of Charles Amand, a native of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli who becomes obsessed by the desire to be an alchemist. Much of the book is taken up by Amand’s attempt to secure a "Main-de-Gloire," the severed hand of a hanged man. Equally important to the book are the two contes related by the village story-teller, the story of Rodrigue Bras de Fer, and "The Legend of Rose Latulipe," the tale of a village maiden who inadvertently dances with Satan—perhaps the most popular Quebecois folktale ever recorded. De Gaspe’s version was almost certainly written for the most part by his father, Philippe Aubert de Gaspe, the Elder. Included here in a lively translation by Yves Brunelle, it is arguably the best of the many forms given this traditional conte over the years.
Contributors
Philippe Aubert de Gaspé
Born in Quebec in 1814, Philippe-Ignace-Francois was the second of Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé's thirteen children; he was named after his ancestor, the seigneur Philippe-Ignace Aubert de Gaspé, Chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of Saint-Louis. Unlike his illustrious forebear, however, the young Philippe-Ignace-François was destined for a brief and somewhat scurrilous life. Raised during the early days of Quebec nationalism, in 1835 he became a journalist and parliamentary reporter for the Quebec Mercury and Le Canadien. Two years later he founded Le Telegraphe and became an editor of the literary journal Le Fantasque. In 1840, he moved to Halifax to become parliamentary reporter for Nova Scotia's Legislative Assembly; less than a year later, on May 7, 1841—a few months before his father's release from debtor's prison in Quebec—he died, "ruined," according to the Abbe Casgrain, "by the abuse of alcohol."
