Gabrielle Roy’s Followers (112)

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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Combine Editions
Gabrielle Roy’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 9,632 ratings · 780 reviews · 55 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy, Philip Stratford (Afterword) 3.71 avg rating — 4,958 ratings — published 1945 — 4 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 — 1,271 ratings — published 1977 — 24 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) 3.86 avg rating — 554 ratings — published 1966 — 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
	La Détresse et l'Enchantement 4.33 avg rating — 454 ratings — published 1984 — 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
	Rue Deschambault 3.86 avg rating — 464 ratings — published 1955 — 28 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 — 451 ratings — published 1950 — 30 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) 3.47 avg rating — 296 ratings — published 1970 — 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
	Un jardin au bout du monde 3.52 avg rating — 211 ratings — published 1975 — 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
	Alexandre Chenevert 3.53 avg rating — 193 ratings — published 1954 — 22 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 3.87 avg rating — 171 ratings — published 1961 — 10 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

More books by Gabrielle Roy…

Quotes by Gabrielle Roy (?)

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

1344 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

November Side Read Nominations- 1st Poll

Top 5 books move onto the 2nd poll!!

Salt to the Sea

by Ruta Sepetys

16 votes, 27.1%

The Snow Child

by Eowyn Ivey

8 votes, 13.6%

The Nest

by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

5 votes, 8.5%

Yes Please

by Amy Poehler

5 votes, 8.5%

Eventide

by Kent Haruf

4 votes, 6.8%

The Space Between Us

by Thrity Umrigar

4 votes, 6.8%

The Midwife of Hope River

by Patricia Harman

3 votes, 5.1%

The Ex

by Alafair Burke

3 votes, 5.1%

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

by Matthew Desmond

2 votes, 3.4%

Let the Great World Spin

by Colum McCann

2 votes, 3.4%

Crossing to Safety

by Wallace Stegner

2 votes, 3.4%

The House on Tradd Street

by Karen White

2 votes, 3.4%

The Tin Flute

by Gabrielle Roy

1 vote, 1.7%

Pictures of You

by Caroline Leavitt

1 vote, 1.7%

My Brilliant Friend

by Elena Ferrante

1 vote, 1.7%

59 total votes

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Gabrielle Roy’s Followers (112)

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