«Evangeline» by Ben Farmer

A young woman sets out on an epic journey across colonial America in a “tale of love and fortitude. Simply riveting” (Keith Donohue, New York Times–bestselling author). “Based on the poem of the same name by Longfellow, Evangeline tells the story of the Great Upheaval, the forcible removal of the French Catholic Acadians from their lands in present-day Nova Scotia by the British. . . . Life is breathed into this tragic historical event by showing how it affected the lives of individuals, most particularly Evangeline and Gabriel, young lovers separated on the night before their wedding” (Historical Novel Society).Heartbroken but determined, Evangeline—along with illegal trapper Bernard Arseneau and priest Felician Abadie—sets out on a ten-year journey to the French-Spanish colony of Louisiana to seek her long-lost love. Evangeline’s epic quest to find Gabriel brings her and her companions across North America’s colonial wilderness, through the French and Indian War, and into New Orleans’ rebellion against Spanish rule. The influence of Evangeline can still be found at every stop of her epic journey.“Majestic and stately as Conrad Richter’s Awakening Land Trilogy, Evangeline is a big book from a big mind.” —Katharine Weber, author of Still Life with Monkey“A historical romance written in unadorned prose, Farmer’s Evangeline will satisfy readers who allow themselves to swoon, who enjoy sentimentality . . . A kind of fiction that’s underrepresented in U.S. bookstores.”—ForeWordMagazine“Farmer does a yeoman’s job in setting the poem in prose . . . It’s a grand tale told by a wonderful storyteller.” —Owen Sound Sun Times