Louise Bienvenue

Marie-Claire Daveluy : une femme à la table des historiens (1880-1968), Sherbrooke, Quebec

With Marie-Claire Daveluy : une femme à la table des historiens (1880-1968), Louise Bienvenue has written the first major biography devoted to this historian, novelist, and pioneer of librarianship in Quebec. In a field long dominated by men, Daveluy helped shape the cultural development of French Canada.

Bienvenue skillfully reconstructs both the constraints and the opportunities of Daveluy’s time, bringing to life a world that was at once personal and intellectual, woven from traditionalism, Catholicity, feminism, and an enduring passion for the history of Montreal. Through prose that is precise and vivid, she illuminates the strength of character of her predecessor, with whom she enters into an intergenerational dialogue that sheds light on a century of development in the historical discipline in Quebec.

By giving Marie-Claire Daveluy the recognition she is due, Louise Bienvenue does more than fill a gap in Quebec historiography; she also underscores the importance of discovering the work of the women who contributed to this field.