The French Traveler — Letters to “Chère Madame”
Adventure, Exploration & Indian Life In Eighteenth-Century Canada
The First English Translation of The 1768 Bestseller “Le Voyageur Français”
Translation and Commentary by William D. Gairdner, Ph D
From the very first page, readers are thrown into scenes of gigantic, crushing “ice monsters” in the high arctic, dangerous exploration among hardy and curious Eskimos, then the rough and tumble lives of the colonists of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; and finally, deep into the fascinating customs, war, killing, loving, torturing, hunting, and exotic ways of the Huron and Iroquois Indians of “Le Canada.”
This is the first English translation of the best-selling 18th-century travel book Le Voyageur Français (The French Traveler), which sold out repeatedly and remained in demand for more than a half-century. The aim of its author, Joseph Delaporte, was to satisfy the insatiable curiosity of Europeans deeply fascinated by the adventure, mystery, and romantic appeal of the New World and its inhabitants. What is Canada Like? Who are the strange Indian people living there? Are they like us? Were we once like them?
The French Traveler supplied the answers for curious readers young and old, in this intimately detailed and fascinating blend of action and emotion.
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As a young athlete, Bill competed in the decathlon at the Pan-Am Games in Brazil and at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, and then in two Commonwealth Games (Jamaica, 1966, and Edinburgh, 1970), in the 400 metre hurdles event. After earning a Ph D from Stanford University, he taught English Literature at York University, then pursued a career in business, from which he retired in 1988 to devote his time to writing. In quick succession he produced a string of bestselling books, including The Trouble With Canada, The War Against The Family, The Book of Absolutes, and Canada’s Founding Debates — an historical landmark. His most recent is DISRUPTIVE ESSAYS: There Are No Safe Spaces in This Book!
Blog: www.williamgairdner.ca
Twitter: @williamgairdner