Easily the most prolific and varied of the "Ecole de 1860," the beachhead of romanticism in Quebec, Pamphile Lemay developed the religious and nationalistic themes of his contemporaries in a more intimate form. Whether probing the heart or celebrating the hearth, Lemay's poetry differs from the public verse then in vogue. His lyrical evocations of the Quebec countryside have been cherished by readers. Long esteemed by critics for his sonnets, in Les Gouttelettes (The Droplets, 1904), Lemay is more recently being acclaimed as a storyteller, his skill demonstrated in Contes vrais (True Tales, 1899).

The eldest of fourteen children, Léon-Pamphile Lemay was born 5 January 1837 at Lotbinière, Quebec, the son of a merchant farmer, Léon Lemay, and his wife, Louise Auger Lemay. After primary school with the Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes at Trois Rivières and preparatory studies with the notary...