Henriette Dessaulles | |
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Born | February 6, 1860 Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada East |
Died | November 17, 1946 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Occupation | Diarist, columnist, journalist |
Notable works | Hopes and Dreams, The Diary of Henriette Dessaulles 1874-1881 |
Henriette Dessaulles (February 6, 1860 – November 17, 1946), also known by the pen name Fadette, was a Canadian journalist and diarist from Quebec.[1] An important pioneer of women's writing in Quebec, she is best known for her longtime column in Le Devoir and for her childhood diaries which were posthumously published in 1971.[2]
She was born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec to Georges-Casimir Dessaulles,[3] at the time the town's mayor and later a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and the Senate of Canada, and Émilie Mondelet. Jean Dessaulles was her paternal grandfather, Dominique Mondelet was her maternal grandfather, and Louis-Joseph Papineau was her godfather.
Beginning at age 14, Dessaules began writing a diary in 1874 while being educated at convent school.[1] She continued until 1881, when she married Maurice St-Jacques.[1] She had seven children with St-Jacques before his death in 1897.[1] At the time of St-Jacques' death, he was a Quebec Liberal Party candidate for the electoral district of Saint-Hyacinthe in the 1897 provincial election;[4] Dessaulles' father was nominated in his place, and won the seat.