Maple History Extra

It’s easy to look back at early Canadian history and run through the explorers as the ones who founded Canada. We start with Cartier as ‘discovering’ the St. Lawrence, and then we have Champlain founding Quebec and what will become Canada one day. But that simplistic look at someone like Champlain’s legacy makes for a rather boring story. Learning about the early history of New France has been fascinating for me and so has understanding how Champlain’s legacy has been shaped by historians and others looking for Canadian heroes. This bonus episode looks into that legacy.

Hélène Boullé was a privileged Parisian girl who at the age of 12 was married off to the much older Samuel de Champlain. We don't know much about her but what we do know is that she was a strong-willed, intelligent young woman who did what she could to live her life her way.

On the regular feed of the podcast I told the story of Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval and how she was marooned on the Isle of Demons off the coast of Quebec in 1541. Isola is a fictionalized version of that story by Allegra Goodman and in this bonus episode I let you know if it is worth a read. If you have read the book, let me know if you agree with my assessment. Did you feel the same way or do you think I'm way off the mark?