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Search - List of Books by Gabrielle Roy

"The more the heart is sated with joy, the more it becomes insatiable." -- Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy, CC, FRSC (March 22, 1909 — July 13, 1983) was a French Canadian author.

Born in Saint Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, Roy was educated at Saint Joseph's Academy. After training as a teacher at The Winnipeg Normal School, she taught in rural schools in Marchand and Cardinal and was then appointed to Provencher School in Saint Boniface.

With her savings she was able to spend some time in Europe, but was forced to return to Canada in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II. She returned with some of her works near completion, but settled in Quebec to earn a living as a sketch artist while continuing to write.Her first novel, Bonheur d'occasion (1945), gave a starkly realistic portrait of the lives of people in Saint-Henri, a working-class neighbourhood of Montreal. The novel caused many Quebeckers to take a hard look at themselves, and is regarded as the novel that helped lay the foundation for Quebec's Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. The original French version won her the prestigious Prix Femina in 1947. Published in English as The Tin Flute (1947), the book won the 1947 Governor General's Award for fiction as well as the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal. Distributed in the United States, where it sold more than three-quarters of a million copies, the Literary Guild of America made The Tin Flute a feature book of the month in 1947. The book garnered so much attention that Roy returned to Manitoba to escape the publicity.

There are two French versions of Bonheur d'occasion. The first was published in 1945 by Société des Éditions Pascal in two volumes. This version was translated in 1947 by Hannah Josephson, who removed several short passages from the English version. In 1965, Librairie Beauchemin published an abridged French version eliminating a number of passages. This second version was translated by Alan Brown in 1980. As a result, there has never been an unabridged version of The Tin Flute published in English.

In August 1947, she married Marcel Carbotte, a Saint Boniface doctor, and the couple set off for Europe where Carbotte studied gynecology and Roy spent her time writing.

Another of her novels brought additional critical acclaim. Alexandre Chenevert (1954), is a dark and emotional story that is ranked as one of the most significant works of psychological realism in the history of Canadian literature.

There is a quote by her on the back of the Canadian $20 bill that reads: "Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?"

She is considered by many to be one of the most important Francophone writers in Canadian history and one of the most influential Canadian authors. In 1963, she was on a panel that gave Expo 67 its theme: Terres des hommes or in English Man and His World. It was her suggestion to use Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 1939 book title as the organizing theme.

Gabrielle Roy died at the age of seventy-four. Her autobiography, titled La Détresse et l'enchantement, was published posthumously in 1984. Translated into English as Enchantment and Sorrow. It covers the years from her childhood in Manitoba to the time when she settled in Quebec.The movie "Tramp at the Door" is dedicated to her and supposedly shows her childhood.

Quotes   more

Awards and Recognition   more

Selected Bibliography   more

Schools Named After the Author   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gabrielle Roy", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 70
Street of Riches Penguin Modern Classics Edition
2018 - Street of Riches Penguin Modern Classics Edition (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780735253346
ISBN-10: 073525334X
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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El ro sin descanso Tres novelas esquimales
2016 - El Ro Sin Descanso Tres Novelas Esquimales (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9788416537082
ISBN-10: 8416537089
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Where Nests the Water Hen
2010 - Where Nests the Water Hen (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780771093876
ISBN-10: 077109387X
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Garden in the Wind
2010 - Garden in the Wind (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780771094231
ISBN-10: 077109423X
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Le Temps qu'il m'a manqu
2010 - Le Temps Qu'il M'a Manqu (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782764600214
ISBN-10: 2764600216
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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The Cashier
2010 - The Cashier (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780771094170
ISBN-10: 0771094175
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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The Road Past Altamont
2010 - The Road Past Altamont [New Canadian Library] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780771094248
ISBN-10: 0771094248
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Bonheur d'occasion
2009 - Bonheur D'occasion (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782764606728
ISBN-10: 2764606729
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Petite poule d'eau
2009 - Petite Poule D'eau [La] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782764606735
ISBN-10: 2764606737
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The Tin Flute
2009 - The Tin Flute (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780771093883
ISBN-10: 0771093888
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Street of Riches
2008 - Street of Riches (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780771077821
ISBN-10: 0771077823
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Windflower
2008 - Windflower [New Canadian Library] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780771094200
ISBN-10: 0771094205
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Heureux les nomades et autres reportages
2007 - Heureux Les Nomades Et Autres Reportages [French Edition] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782764605370
ISBN-10: 2764605374
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In Translation The Gabrielle RoyJoyce Marshall Correspondence
2006 - In Translation the Gabrielle Royjoyce Marshall Correspondence (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780802039088
ISBN-10: 0802039081
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Le Pays de bonheur d'occasion
2001 - Le Pays De Bonheur D'occasion (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782764600740
ISBN-10: 2764600747
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Children of My Heart
2000 - Children of My Heart (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780771075988
ISBN-10: 0771075987
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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Contes pour enfants
1998 - Contes Pour Enfants (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782890529151
ISBN-10: 2890529150
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De quoi t'ennuiestu Eveline  Ely  Ely Ely
1998 - De Quoi T'ennuiestu Eveline Ely Ely Ely (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782890522701
ISBN-10: 2890522709
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Fragiles lumires de la terre
1996 - Fragiles Lumires De La Terre (Other)
ISBN-13: 9782890527645
ISBN-10: 2890527646
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Alexandre Chenevert
1995 - Alexandre Chenevert (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782890526884
ISBN-10: 2890526887
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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La rivire sans repos
1995 - La Rivire Sans Repos (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9782890526891
ISBN-10: 2890526895
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1977 - Garden in the Wind / Enchanted Summer [New Canadian Library, No. 155] (Paperback)
1970 - Bonheur D'occasion Roman [French Edition] (Other)
Ma Vache Bossie [Collection Litterature de jeunesse - French Edition] (Hardcover)
Courtequeue [French Edition] (Paperback)
Rue Deschambault 21 [Quebec 10/10 i.e. dix sur dix - French Edition] (Paperback)