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The child that I was is as much a stranger to me as I would have been to her if, at the dawn of life as they say, she had been able to see me as I am today. But from birth to death and from death to birth, through remembrance on my part and hopes and dreams on hers, the two of us keep moving closer to a common meeting ground, as the distance between us grows.
Gabrielle Roy
Encountering
Gabrielle Roy
Chronology
1909
Birth of Marie Rose Emma Gabrielle Roy on March 22, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, daughter of Léon Roy and Mélina Landry, both originally from Quebec
1915- 1928
Receives her education at St. Joseph's Academy in St. Boniface
1928- 1929
Studies at the Provincial Normal School in Winnipeg
1929
Death of her father Léon Roy
1929- 1930
Teacher in Manitoba in Marchand, then in Cardinal
1930- 1937
Teacher at the Provencher School in St. Boniface; during which time she participates in theatre productions with the Cercle Molière
1937
Teacher in Little Waterhen in northern Manitoba
1937- 1939
Lived in England and France; pursues dramatic art studies
1938
The weekly Parisian publication Je suis partout publishes her first articles
1939
On her return from Europe, Gabrielle Roy moves to Montréal; she writes many articles and short stories for Le Jour and La Revue moderne
1940- 1945
Le Bulletin des agriculteurs hires her as a reporter. She travels between Quebec and Western Canada, writing Bonheur d'occasion in secret
1943
Death of her mother Mélina Landry
1945
Publication of Bonheur d'occasion
1947
The Tin Flute is chosen as book of the month for the month of May by the Literary Guild of America; Bonheur d'occasion wins the Prix Fémina in Paris; Universal Pictures acquires the film rights to the book; Gabrielle Roy marries Dr. Marcel Carbotte; she becomes a member of the Royal Society of Canada
1947- 1950
With her husband, Gabrielle Roy spends a year in Paris and two years in Saint-Germain-en-Laye; also spending time in Brittany, Switzerland and England
1950
Publication of La Petite Poule d'Eau
1950- 1952
The couple returns to the province of Quebec, first living in the town of LaSalle, and then moving to the city of Québec where Gabrielle Roy lives until her death
1954
Publication of Alexandre Chenevert
1955
Publication of Rue Deschambault
1957
The couple purchase a house in the country in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, in the Charlevoix area, where she will spend all her summers
1961
Publication of La montagne secrète; travels to Ungava and then to Greece with her husband
1966
Publication of La route d'Altamont
1967
Publication of an essay on "Man and his World" in the official album of the World Exhibition in Montréal
1970
Trip to St. Boniface to visit her sister Bernadette on her deathbed; publication of La rivière sans repos
1972
Publication of Cet été qui chantait
1975
Publication of Un jardin au bout du monde
1976
Publication of a children's book, Ma vache Bossie
1977
Publication of Ces enfants de ma vie; Gabrielle Roy starts writing La détresse et l’enchantement
1978
Publication of Fragiles lumières de la terre
1979
Publication of Courte-Queue, her second children's book
1982
Publication of De quoi t'ennuies-tu, Éveline?
1983
Death of Gabrielle Roy at the Hôtel-Dieu in Québec, on July 13
1984
Publication of Gabrielle Roy's autobiography La détresse et l’enchantement
