Before the filles du roi…Desperate to escape her past, Jeanne, a poor widow, accompanies a richer woman to Quebec. The sea voyage is long, one of privation and danger. In 1640, the decision to emigrate takes raw courage, but the struggling colony of Quebec, so far a collection of rough soldiers and fur traders, needs French women if it is ever to take firm root in the wilderness.
Editorial Review by donalee Moulton
Belle Canadienne takes us back in time and place to the wilds of New France where Jeanne Dube is learning to live – and love – again. The young woman's life in France has been physically and emotionally draining. This will not change, she knows, as long as she remains in France. When offered the opportunity to start over in a new world, Jeanne sets sail and sets out to reclaim her life.
Belle Canadienne takes us back in time and place to the wilds of New France where Jeanne Dube is learning to live – and love – again. The young woman's life in France has been physically and emotionally draining. This will not change, she knows, as long as she remains in France. When offered the opportunity to start over in a new world, Jeanne sets sail and sets out to reclaim her life.
Thibaut Babin is Canadien, bred to the hardships and customs of the new country. His life, like Jeanne's, is full of loss and longing. The two tentatively find their way to each other until family obligations, battles with the Iroquois, and self-preservation prevail. Juliet Waldron and Jay Lang have written a powerful tale of woe and wonder that keeps us hoping the fires of true love burn deep and long.