Gabrielle Roy’s Followers (108)

Gabrielle Roy

Born

in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, Canada

March 22, 1909

Died

July 13, 1983

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Gabrielle Roy was born in March 1909 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, the youngest of eleven children. Her mother and father, then, were relatively old at the time of her birth -- 42 and 59 respectively. Like Christine's father in Rue Deschambault (Street of Riches), Léon Roy worked as a colonisation officer for the Department of Immigration, a position he held between 1897 and 1915. His politically motivated dismissal occurred six months before his retirement, thus leaving Roy with no pension to support his family. The family's financial predicament during Gabrielle's youth precluded any chance of her attending university, despite having earned stellar marks throughout high school which put her as one of the top students in the entire province Gabrielle Roy was born in March 1909 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, the youngest of eleven children. Her mother and father, then, were relatively old at the time of her birth -- 42 and 59 respectively. Like Christine's father in Rue Deschambault (Street of Riches), Léon Roy worked as a colonisation officer for the Department of Immigration, a position he held between 1897 and 1915. His politically motivated dismissal occurred six months before his retirement, thus leaving Roy with no pension to support his family. The family's financial predicament during Gabrielle's youth precluded any chance of her attending university, despite having earned stellar marks throughout high school which put her as one of the top students in the entire province. In 1927, after graduating from grade twelve, she enrolled at the Winnipeg Normal Institute where she completed her teacher training.

After teaching in the rural communities of Marchand and Cardinal, where she taught for a year, Roy returned to Saint-Boniface. There she accepted a teaching job at the Académie Provencher boy's school, a position she held from 1930-37. During this period, Roy began actively pursuing her interest in acting and joined the Cercle Molière theatre troupe. Her experiences as an actor inspired her to leave her teaching position and travel to Europe to study drama. Spending between 1937 and 1939 in Britain and France, the fluently bilingual Roy studied acting for six months before concluding that she did not desire to pursue a career in the theatre. In the meantime, she had also begun to write articles about Canada for newspapers in Paris and pieces on Europe for newspapers in Manitoba and came to realize that writing could be her vocation.

Over the course of her lengthy and prolific career, Gabrielle Roy received many honours, including three Governor General's Awards (1947, 1957, 1978), the Prix Fémina (1947), the Companion of the Order of Canada (1967), the Medal of the Canada Council (1968), the Prix David (1971), and the Prix Molson (1978).

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Gabrielle Roy’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 8,957 ratings · 718 reviews · 56 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy, Philip Stratford (Afterword) 3.71 avg rating — 4,682 ratings — published 1945 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Children of My Heart 3.73 avg rating — 1,156 ratings — published 1977 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy, Joyce Marshall (Translator) 3.85 avg rating — 522 ratings — published 1966 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La Détresse et l'Enchantement 4.32 avg rating — 415 ratings — published 1984 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rue Deschambault 3.83 avg rating — 429 ratings — published 1955 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Where Nests the Water Hen by Gabrielle Roy, Sandra Birdsell (Afterword) 3.68 avg rating — 416 ratings — published 1950 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Windflower by Gabrielle Roy, Joyce Marshall (Translator), Phyllis Webb (Afterword) 3.43 avg rating — 275 ratings — published 1970 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Un jardin au bout du monde 3.49 avg rating — 200 ratings — published 1975 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alexandre Chenevert 3.55 avg rating — 175 ratings — published 1954 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La montagne secrète 3.90 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 1961 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Gabrielle Roy (?)

“The more the heart is nourished with happiness, the more it is insatiable.”
― Gabrielle Roy

1350 likes

“Nous connaîtrions-nous seulement un peu nous-mêmes, sans les arts?

Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?
”
― Gabrielle Roy

11 likes

“la pauvreté est comme un mal qu'on endort en soi et qui ne donne pas trop de douleur, à condition de ne pas trop bouger. On s’y habitue, on finit par ne plus y prendre garde tant qu’on reste avec elle tapie dans l’obscurité; mais qu'on s'avise de la sortir au grand jour, et on s'effraie, on la voit enfin, si sordide qu'on hésite à l'exposer au soleil.
(Ch. XIII)”
― Gabrielle Roy, The Tin Flute

tags: poverty

4 likes

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Polls

Please select the book you want to read AND discuss in July.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

5 votes, 31.3%

Earth and High Heaven by Gwethalyn Graham

3 votes, 18.8%

A Bird in the House by Margaret Laurence

2 votes, 12.5%

Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie

2 votes, 12.5%

The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy

2 votes, 12.5%

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

1 vote, 6.3%

Hetty Dorval by Ethel Wilson

1 vote, 6.3%

16 total votes

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Gabrielle Roy’s Followers (108)

Gabrielle Roy

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Combine Editions
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