Au temps des patriotes : Les chemins de la liberté

Napierville 1837. Their house attacked and put on fire by English loyalists, the patriot family of Pierre Gagnon has to flee Napierville to take refuge with his family. Their perilous trip in winter will bring them to Saint-Jean, Saint-Denis, Longueuil, Saint-Eustache and into many villages in the region of Montreal. The twins, Jeanne and Paul, and their parents, become witnesses to the patriot struggle for liberty. The fugitives go through heartbreaking times as they follow in the wake of Wolfred Nelson, Bonaventure Viger, Louis-Oliviers Chénier and many hundreds of other patriots who believed in democracy and a French language country in North America. 

This fictional novel brings us back to the time of the patriots, the most troubled time of our collective history, when many families, such as the one of Pierre Gagnon, took the roads of exile.

Gabrielle doute de la sincérité du gouverneur Gosford et de sa bonne foi envers les Canadiens français. Étant donné que son mari est un farouche partisan des patriotes de Papineau, elle se tourmente sans cesse et se demande comment finiront toutes ces querelles. Pierre lit souvent La Minerve, un journal sympathique à la cause patriote, et s’enrage parfois à la lecture des textes des journalistes.

— Je préférerais vraiment que les différends politiques se règlent à l’amiable, déclare Gabrielle.

— Gosford doit se soumettre aux élus, réplique Pierre.

• Technical sheet (pdf)
• Teaching guide (pdf)