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Hidden Springs       www.hiddensprings.info 
Layne Longfellow       www.laynelongfellow.com
Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland   www.mainehistory.org 
Maine Historical Society    www.mainehistory.org 
Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge   www.nps.gov/long
Rhea Côté    www.rheapress.com/biopubcr.html 
Juliana L’Heureux   www.mainewriter.com
Roger Paradis   www.umfk.maine.edu
Carolin Collin    www.mainehistory.org
Lisa Michaud     www.francoamerican.org

“Island historian and folklorist Georges Arsenault has been collecting songs and stories from Acadian Prince Edward Island since his student days in the 1970s: words transmitted by lamplight in the early part of the 20^th century, which the local men and women would pass on what they’d heard from elders long gone.  Included in this collection are 8 folktales, 13 legends and 23 songs with lyrics and musical notation.” 

“This is not kids’ stuff!  The first book of Acadian tales in English, The Seven-Headed Beast establishes these stories as a major part of Cape Breton heritage and of world literature.  Told at wakes and weddings and all kinds of kitchen rackets, these are raw, saucy tales of ridiculed kings, powerful women, outrageous creatures – plus the antics of P’tit Jean, the marvelous Jack and Coyote of Acadian legend  Anselme Chiasson has collected these extraordinary tales, and Rosie Aucoin Grace’s translation keeps tem alive, startling, horrifying, and good entertainment – a rare and wonderful find!”

“Cajun Folktales serves up a spicy gumbo of more than twenty traditional Cajun animal stories, fairy tales, ghost stories, and humorous tales, and also includes Ms. Reneaux’s signature story ‘Knock, Knock, Who’s There?’  to make it a crème de la crème collection.  A traditional storyteller who collects by word of mouth, Reneaux has developed her repertoire over years of collecting – on front porches, school playgrounds, and her beloved fishing trips, as well as in nursing homes, airports, and at neighborhood fais-dodos.  She has refined her work in performances nationwide, including the National Storytelling Festival, where she has appeared numerous times.

‘Like any good raconteur,’ she says, ‘I have told the tales for true as I heard them, but added personal touches, twists, and turns as the stories grew to be a natural part of my own life.  For me, these tales are not museum pieces whose time was and is no more.  They are alive and vigorous, brining with joie de vivre, the zest for life that is the essence of Cajun culture.’” 

“A delightful blend of tradition, fantasy and adventure, this story will 
touch the heart of children and adults of all ages and cultures.   On Christmas Eve, young Rose-Marie and Constant go on a night-time quest with Johnny à Minou, the magic mailman, to find the twelve strands of wool needed to complete the magic hooked rug of Grand Pré.  Soaring through the stars in Johnny à Minou’s mailbag, they visit the four corners of Acadie.  Each stop on their magical journey brings them closer to the conclusion of their search – and to their ancestors, the Acadians of Grand Pré, deported in 1755.”

This is a beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of Evangeline for children. The illustrations are in bright, colorful oils that encompass the entire page to enhance the telling of Evangeline’s journey to find her lost love, Gabriel.  A brief history of  the Acadian people is included at the end.

 "The Acadian spirit shines through when Cecile Souris and her mouse family find themselves deported from their beloved Grand Pré to a faraway land.  Join them on an unforgettable journey in this heart-warming tale of courage, love and joy as the Acadians continue to celebrate life with ‘Fiddles & Spoons!’”

Au Revoir, L'Acadie describes the heroic efforts of working men and women of great character to overcome their long-held prejudices to become workers and Americans instead of merely disgruntled ethnic victims.  As working conditions deteriorate and profits disappear, a violent strike ensues and a worker is killed.  Labor leaders, management, clergy, and town fathers must find their way back from the abyss of anarchy to save their followers and the town.

“This is the haunting story of two young lovers separated as children by their feuding papas, who come together only to be torn apart by English soldiers during the Expulsion of the Acadians from Grand-Pré.  Based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s tragic poem, Evangeline, this is the tale of Géline’s search for her beloved Gabriel.  As she travels through wilderness, towns and mission campsites, seeking her lover, she learns much about courage, faith, and forgiveness.”

“Originally published in 1929 under the title The Romance of Evangeline, this novel by Finis Fox remarkably captures the essence of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic and makes both a handy complement to and a respectable adaptation of the original.

In his foreword to the original edition, the author promised that ‘while those acquainted with the original verse may find missing in this new version the lilting rhythm and beauty of the metered lines, they will be repaid in this new telling with infinitely more detail and incident than can be found in the poetry, and without too much digression from Longfellow’s story.’

 Fox fulfilled his promise with this dramatic, moving, and memorable telling of Evangeline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse, the two Acadian lovers separated during the expulsion of the French settlers from Nova Scotia.”

“Pélagie: The Return to Acadie is the funny, lyrical tale of how a valiant widow leads her people out of exile.  In 1755, British solders had forced them off their land and sent them as far from Acadie as possible.  Twenty years later, the scattered Cormiers and LeBlancs, Landrys and Poiriers, Maillets and Légers find their way to Pélagie’s ox-cart caravan and head for home.  As well as the remains of her own family, Pélagie embraces a runaway slave, a gruff midwife, a giant, a fool, and a hundred-year-old patriarch who strikes a daring bargain with Death.  Through fair weather and foul, over mountains and rivers, Pélagie commands a ten-year odyssey up the Atlantic coast from Georgia to Acadie.”

“Against the background of the English-Acadian conflict, we follow the adventures of two young people – Paul, an Acadian boy, and his devoted friend, Swift Arrow, an Indian who once saved his life.  Smoke Over Grand Pré provides a glimpse into the lives of people who lived during the period that led up to the Acadian deportation.  The eviction of Acadians from Nova Scotia by the English government represents an important chapter in the history of Nova Scotia and of Canada.” 

"It is 1756 and much is at stake.  The intense and perpetual struggle between Britain and France dominates the landscape as national and religious loyalties come to the fore in both Old World and New.  Set in Western Europe, Nova Scotia New Brunswick, and Quebec, Bearer of the the Chosen Seed, is a tale of human survival and personal triumph spanning centuries of great upheaval."

A Land of Discord Always is the history of Acadia up to the time of this  grand dérangement.  It tells how a unique society grew and prospered in an obscure corner of North America only to be crushed in a contest between eighteenth century imperial superpowers.  Peopled with memorable men and women whose exploits make fascinating reading, it is a narrative filled with the bravery and cowardice, the foresight and foolishness, and the design and happenstance that determined Acadia's turbulent history.  

"Acadia is the thrilling true story of real men and women "ancestors of the Louisiana Cajuns who gambled on a dream and an unforeseeable destiny.  It is distinguished historical novelist Alfred Silver's finest work."

 This is the story about the Acadians who fled into the woods to escape the deportation.  It is a love story of a young woman who falls in love with a British soldier who deserts the army to be with her.  They spent many years as fugitives with Beausoleil, an Acadian freedom fighter.

This is a work of fiction based on true historical facts of the deportation of Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755.  Angelique is a young girl who is curious, observant, and precocious.  She hears things she cannot share with others and knows that the deportation will happen before the inhabitants of her village know about it.  She keeps a diary of all that she hears and of the activities of her family and community. 

"Although the tragic expulsion of the Acadian people from what is now Nova Scotia was common knowledge as far back as 1770, many people are not aware of the circumstances that led up to this forced exodus.  This is a detailed account of the history, culture , and legacy of the Acadians."

Julie Albert presents an accurate and positive image of the Acadians in Northern Maine by putting them in their proper historical context. 

Translated by Sister Therese Doucette and Dr. Francis Doucette.  Madawaska, ME:  Northern Graphics, 1985.

“The Cajuns: Americanization of a People explores six decades of Cajun history and analyzes the forces that impacted on Louisiana’s Acadians.  During these years of Americanization the Cajuns were swept into the strong currents of mass culture.  All these forces have pushed and pulled at the fabric of Cajun life but did not destroy it.  This fascinating book reveals why.”

 Bible presents a history of Acadians, their early struggles, their home life, the deportation, their treatment while in exile, and their settlements in Northern Maine's Madawaska Territory; New Brunswick, Canada; St Mary's Bay in Nova Scotia; and the Têche country in Louisiana as preparation and context for reading the poem, Evangeline.

 This small, 50 page history of Acadie gives a brief description of Acadian life and culture before and after the deportation. 

"Conceived as a series of sketches, this work is a collection of documents, maps, portraits and drawings that recall some of the events, and retrieve some of the texture and emotions of the times. More like an album or a journal, it illustrates the unfinished history of Acadia."

  “Through account of key events, The Fall of New France explores all sides of the conflict.  It profiles key figures such as British General James Wolfe, daring hero of several campaigns, yet strangely indecisive in the face of Quebec’s seemingly invincible fortifications.  In frustration, Wolfe orders his troops to destroy farms and villages along the St. Lawrence, while inside Quebec’s walls the French General Louis-Joseph Montcalm clashes with civilian leaders over tactics, and despairs over the antics of Canada’s home-grown aristocrats.

Aboriginal nations play a prominent role.  Mohawk leader King Hendrick fights valiantly with the British, while Pontiac, a leader of the Ottawa nation, leads an uprising against them at Fort Detroit. 

This beautifully illustrated history reproduces a wide range of period paintings and sketches of key sites, battles and leading figures.  Adding to the rich visual mix are color photographs of important sites and many artifacts from leading museums such as the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Steward Museum.”

 "Here, Doucet brings together the personal and the political, examining Acadian identity and culture in the light of global politics and the misfortunes of history. Lost and Found in Acadie draws connections between such diverse events as le grand dérangement and the suppression of the Métis in Western Canada, between the Seven Years' War and the current global political climate.  In tracing these connections, Doucet discovers that Acadie is not lost in a painful past.  The true Acadie is found in our relationships--to the past, to the future, and to anyone who cares about both."

"The quiet, picturesque town of Annapolis Royal stands in startling contrast to its turbulent history: known as Port-Royal until 1710, the community was the centre of early European settlement, the capital first of Acadia, then Nova Scotia, and a focus of hostilities in every ear between Great Britain and France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  The cradle of Acadia in the 1600s, the town was one of the principal settings of the tragic Acadian deportation in 1755.  A History of Port-Royal/Annapolis Royal 1605-1800 chronicles the first two hundred years of the community, describing with clarity and depth not only the political and military conflict but also Acadian and British social life, a significant influence on the town over the centuries.

“Piecing together the scattered remnants of Acadian civilization in documents and sources buried deep in archives, historian John Mack Faragher provides the first comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and historically accurate account of the expulsion from both British and Acadian points of view.  It is a story filled with fascinating historical characters – native Micmaq who enjoyed a friendly relationship of cultural exchange and accommodation with the Acadian settlers, French and British governors and military officers isolated in lonely outposts, Yankee merchants and ministers motivated by enterprise and ideology, and ordinary Acadian men and women who insisted on their right to live their own lives, in their own independent ways, on the margins of contesting empires.  It is a story of ethnic cleansing in early America, a story with a special poignancy in our own time. 

“The most startling discovery made was that they do not speak an aberrated language.  The people of the upper St. John Valley have always been made to feel and believe that they use the French language incorrectly; that they have invented words and patterns of speech that are purely incomprehensible; that because of ignorance they have distorted a beautiful language.  The truth is that they have preserved almost intact the French language spoken during the period from the ninth to the sixteenth century known as Old French.”

"...the first study to connect the Acadian experience with the heritage of ideas the migrants brought with them from Europe -- Naomi Griffiths explores the creation and endurance of the Acadian community and the ways in which the Acadians differed from the people of New England and New France.  One result of the war between England and France for the domination of  much of North America was the deportation of the Acadians from their homeland in 1755.  Griffiths examines the implications of this deportation for the survival of the Acadian community."

"Postcards from Acadia explores the cultural and symbolic resonance of Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, Canada.  Settled in the 1680s, Grand-Pre was one of the sites for the Acadian Deportation in 1755.  From the settlement and deportation of the early Acadians, to the mass marketing of the Dominion Railway and the federal reshaping of a National Historic Site, Grand-Pre has served "as a historical clue, a focal point, a catharsis, a catalyst and a motivation, both for Acadians and for others."  Excavating the political and cultural symbols that have shaped Grand-re, Barbara LeBlanc explores the ways in which we negotiate personal and group identity.  In Acadian endeavors to direct and control a sense of identity in a changing world, Grand-Pre plays a significant role b serving as a place of heritage commemoration and celebration--of past, present, and future.

“These few pages have been taken from different causeries published in the St. John Valley Times under the aegis of the Madawaska Historical Society.  They are not a complete compilation.  They were chosen as an answer to a question asked by a Maine poet in the ‘long ago’: “This is the forest primeval; but were are the hearts that beneath it leaped like the roe when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?”

 "...prepared by the National Park Service based on contributions from Maine Acadians and a diverse group of cultural professionals.  The report is being submitted to the U.S. Congress in response to direction in the Maine Acadian Culture Preservation Act (Public Law 101-543) to prepare a study of Acadian culture in Maine.  This report is a ... beginning toward understand Acadian culture in Maine.  perhaps its greatest value is highlighting the need for systematic study of a rich regionally based ethnic culture."

Roger Paradis has written here an extensive history of Acadia as a context for introducing the Papiers/Papers of Prudent L. Mercure, "...a handwritten manuscript of some twenty-two hundred pages of historical narrative, genealogy, and documents of Acadian history.  The focus of the Mercure Papers is on the St. John River Acadians; it also includes copious documentation on the peninsula Acadians and their resettlement at the Bay of Chauleurs and Memramcook, the Magdalen Islands, the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and elsewhere."

"Warren A. Perrin brings to historical research a lawyer's penchant to parse the difference between fact and speculation.  Joseph Beausoleil Brossard was the kind of character who can too easily be shortchanged by stereotyping, and I'm sure Beausoleil is glad he finally got a good lawyer."

This book "presents a thorough study of Acadian history from the earliest days of French settlement to present-day Acadian communities.  Ross and Deveau draw on original seventeenth century texts, as well as up-to-date sources.  They examine the history of the Expulsion -- the Grand Dérangement--that began in 1755, and trace the return of the Acadians and their resettlement in seven areas of the province.  The authors highlight the distinct features that have developed within these different regions of Nova Scotia, and discuss the choices and challenges faced by Acadians today:  linguistic assimilation and preservation of a distinct culture against pressures from the mainstream culture.

“-Cajun music, crafts, and architecture – cooking gumbo, playing bourré, speaking Cajun French – The Cajun Mardi Gras and Saturday night fais-dodo – Historical chronology from 1500 to the present – Photographs by Clarence J. Laughlin, George François Mugnier, Elemore Morgan, Sr., Fonville Winans, Lauren Post, and others.