Champlain

Samuel de Champlain helped found the first permanent French settlement in the New World; he established the village that eventually became the great city of Quebec; he was a skilled cartographer who gave us many of our first accurate maps of North America; he forged alliances with Native nations that laid the foundations for vast trading networks; and as governor, he set New France on the road to becoming a productive, self-sufficient, thriving colony.

But Champlain was also a man who suffered his share of defeats and disappointments. That first permanent settlement was abandoned after a disastrous winter claimed the lives of half the colonists. His marriage to a child bride was unhappy and marked by long separations. Eventually Quebec had to be surrendered temporarily to the English in 1629.

In this remarkable book, illustrated entirely with paintings, archival maps, and original artifacts, Christopher Moore brings to life this complex man and, through him, creates a portrait of Canada in its earliest days.

Champlain is illustrated with archival maps and paintings. Additional artwork has been provided by Francis Back.

“One July day four hundred years ago, Samuel de Champlain stepped out of a small boat at Quebec and began a great adventure.” So begins Christopher Moore’s riveting account of the life of the extraordinary, daring “father of New France.”

Samuel de Champlain helped found the first permanent French settlement in the New World; he established the village that eventually became the great city of Quebec; he was a skilled cartographer who gave us many of our first accurate maps of North America; he forged alliances with Native nations that laid the foundations for vast trading networks; and as governor, he set New France on the road to becoming a productive, self-sufficient, thriving colony.

But Champlain was also a man who suffered his share of defeats and disappointments. That first permanent settlement was abandoned after a disastrous winter claimed the lives of half the colonists. His marriage to a child bride was unhappy and marked by long separations. Eventually Quebec had to be surrendered temporarily to the English in 1629.

In this remarkable book, illustrated entirely with paintings, archival maps, and original artifacts, Christopher Moore brings to life this complex man and, through him, creates a portrait of Canada in its earliest days.

Champlain is illustrated with archival maps and paintings. Additional artwork has been provided by Francis Back.

Carolyn Mott Ford - Children's Literature

This is an impressive book with informative sidebars and magnificent illustrations including archival artwork, maps, and additional drawings by Francis Back. Champlain was born in the small seaport town of Brouage on the coast of France almost one hundred years after the voyage of Christopher Columbus to America. As a young man he served in the military during a time of war and when peace was declared he was able to go to Spain and sail from there to the Caribbean. Upon his return to France he was hired by a fur trader who took Champlain on his first voyage to Canada. Canada was the new frontier and Champlain longed to return. When the king of France supported the idea of a colony in Canada, Champlain's talent as a cartographer led the commander of an expedition, Pierre de Monts, to take the young man on the voyage. The colony of Arcadia was established, but the hardships discouraged many and the expedition was ordered to return to France. Champlain returned to Canada as a leader in 1603 and established a settlement at Québec. The book explores the relationship with the people of the Native nations and gives an interesting portrait of Champlain. The list of additional reading includes books written by the explorer and there is also a listing of historic sites. 2004 (orig. 1986), Tundra, Ages 9 to 12.

With a body of work that boasts some of the most outlandish plots and outrageous characters ever to make it onto the printed page, Christopher Moore is rapidly making a name for himself as the clown prince of contemporary fiction. It may be a dirty job, but Moore is more than up to the task.