Claude-Henri Grignon
Claude-Henri Grignon was a notable Canadian author born on July 8, 1894, in Sainte-Adele, Quebec. Raised in a devout Catholic household, he developed a strong connection to his provincial roots, which deeply influenced his writing. After a brief education at the Institut Agricole d'Oka, he shifted his focus from agriculture to French literature, embarking on a self-directed study of literary classics. Grignon began his writing career in the 1910s, contributing to Montreal newspapers and penning essays on political and literary topics, often under pseudonyms.
His most significant work, "Un Homme et son péché" (1933), presents a stark portrayal of the lives of provincial French Canadians, characterized by its earthy realism and absence of sentimentality. This novel not only earned him the prestigious Prix David in 1935 but also inspired multiple adaptations in film and television, creating a lasting cultural impact. Grignon also had a career in public service, serving as mayor of Sainte-Adele from 1941 to 1951. He was recognized for his contributions to literature and was admitted to the Royal Society of Canada in 1960. Grignon's legacy endures as a champion of regional literature, reflecting the challenges and realities of rural life in Canada.
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Subject Terms
Claude-Henri Grignon
Author
- Born: July 8, 1894
- Birthplace: Sainte-Adele, Quebec, Canada
- Died: April 3, 1976
- Place of death: Sainte-Adele, Quebec, Canada
Biography
Claude-Henri Grignon was born Eugene-Henry Grignon on July 8, 1894, in Sainte-Adele, Quebec, Canada. The son of physician Wilfrid Grignon and his wife Eugenia, Grignon was raised in a devout Catholic household. The author defended his faith his entire life and advocated with equal zeal the provincial lifestyle of his mountain childhood.
After attending a local elementary school, Grignon was sent to Montreal’s College Saint-Laurent. The discontent teenager left school after two years, returning to Sainte-Adele in 1910. Wilfrid Grignon employed a home tutor to continue his son’s education, but Claude-Henri remained resistant. An interest in agriculture led to his enrollment at the Institut Agricole d’Oka. During his brief tenure, Grignon lost interest in farming but developed a passion for French literature, initiating an intense self-study of the classics.
Following his father’s death in 1915, Grignon wrote for Montreal newspapers, an occupation he maintained throughout the 1920’s and returned to occasionally later in life. Grignon also composed essays expressing his virulent political and literary views, frequently publishing them pseudonymously. In 1916, he wed Thérèse Lambert, a sixty-year union that endured until his death on April 3, 1976; the couple adopted a daughter, Claire.
From 1920 through 1926, Grignon was a fixture at the École Littéraire de Montréal. His attendance at meetings allowed him to interact with other emergent authors. In the early 1930’s Grignon found employment as secretary for Iréné Vautrin, a National Assembly member and Department of Colonization minister. The position ended abruptly when the political climate shifted. He moved to Sainte-Adele and resumed his journalism career while writing fiction on the side. From 1936 to 1943, he published Les Pamphlets de Valdombre, a political review. The civic-minded Grignon served as mayor of Sainte-Adele from 1941 to 1951.
Grignon’s Un Homme et son péché (1933; The Woman and the Miser,1978) depicts the austere lifestyle of provincial French Canadians. Absent is the sentimentality that affects most regional novels of the era, and Grignon cited Honoré de Balzac as an influence on his own earthy realism. An expansive work, the novel details the marriage of a dominant husband and his compliant wife, including references to sexual relations. While some 1930’s reviewers deemed the writing pornographic, today the content seems mild. The novel generated film versions as well as radio and television series, for which Grignon supplied the scripts. Significant among Grignon’s other fiction is his 1928 novel based upon Charles Lindberg’s historic transatlantic flight and a collection of regional stories published in 1934.
Un Homme et son péché garnered Grignon the highest Canadian literary award, the Prix David, in 1935. In 1960, he was admitted into the Royal Society of Canada. A writer of regional literature valued for his trademark realism, Grignon championed the provincial life, the hardships of which he portrayed in his best-selling novel. The success of Un Homme et son péché spawned a lucrative Canadian industry as succeeding generations were introduced to the demanding farmer and his obedient wife through radio and television.