“It has been said that those who know the story of Evangeline, can’t wait to visit Acadia, and those who visit Acadia become enchanted by its history.” So it is told by Sally Ross and Barbara LeBlanc in their Forward to Evangeline, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a popular reprint of his epic poem sold in many museums, and still loved throughout the world. I am part of the second group. I knew nothing about either until my wife Louise and I visited the very delightful region of North America called the Canadian Maritimes. In this knowledge gap, I wasn’t alone. Until Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published his fictional, but fact based account, Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie (Fr), in 1847, most of the world knew nothing of Acadia or the Acadians and what happened to them. Longfellow brought the plight of these people and their land to the world’s attention, along with the gripping tale of the fair Evangeline’s search for her beloved Gabriel following their separation and expulsion from their homeland. Somehow, their story still escaped my attention for the ensuing 175 years until we saw Acadia first hand in the Summer of 2023. World acclaimed Longfellow had never made it to my reader’s list. How could I know? He has now! Though Longfellow’s work is a classic, the story itself isn’t a high point in Canadian history, something they are not really proud of. To their credit though, they still teach it to their children. Their southern neighbor should take notice!
Price for this sixteen page short story includes tax and shipping.