What Was Canada’s First Novel?

If you love Canadian literature, you have come to the right place! Lately, we have been talking a lot about contemporary Canadian authors and books, but what about the past? What was Canada’s first novel? 

People often consider “The History of Emily Montague” by Frances Brooke (published in 1769) to be the first example of Canadian literature. However, people still debate this. Canada didn’t become an official country until July 1, 1867 when New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Ontario joined together to form The Dominion of Canada. 

So, some people consider anything written before this date to be “colonial” literature, not Canadian. However, “The History of Emily Montague” was both written in colonial Canada and was the first book to take place in a Canadian setting. The book describes Canada at the time in great detail and includes social commentary. 

The novel itself is set in Quebec in the mid 1760s. It’s a love story, but also talks about the relations between the English, French, and Iroqois in Quebec at the time. The book falls in the “sentimental” genre. This genre was incredibly popular at the time, and focuses on the emotions of the characters. The book is “epistolary”, aka it was written as a series of letters between the characters. 

If you want to know more about all things Canadian literature, follow Jody Royer’s blog. There, he shares book recommendations, reviews, and more.