Joseph-Patrice Truillier-Lacombe
Joseph-Patrice Truillier-Lacombe (1807-1863) was a notable figure in 19th-century Canadian literature and legal practice, born in Oka, Quebec. He was the son of a merchant and had a strong educational background, having excelled at the Collège de Montréal and ultimately training to become a notary. While he spent much of his career as a notary and later as a business agent for the Society of Saint Sulpice in Montreal, he is best known for his contributions to French-Canadian literature.
Truillier-Lacombe's only novel, *La Terre paternelle*, published in installments in 1846 and later as a book in 1871, is recognized as the first of the "romans de la terre" genre, which focuses on themes of land and rural life. His novel diverged from typical works of the time by incorporating realism and depicting the hardships faced by a family in rural Quebec and Montreal. Common themes include the contrast between urban and rural life, generational conflicts, and the struggles of a reluctant wanderer. Despite not producing a significant body of literary work, his writing reflects an important stage in the evolution of early Canadian literature, illustrating the realities of life in the 19th century through a nuanced lens.
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Joseph-Patrice Truillier-Lacombe
Author
- Born: February 20, 1807
- Birthplace: Oka, Quebec, Canada
- Died: July 6, 1863
Biography
Joseph-Patrice Truillier-Lacombe was born in Oka, Quebec, Canada, on February 20, 1807. He was the son of Francois-Xavier Truiller-Lacombe, a merchant, and Marie-Genevieve Adhèmar Truillier-Lacombe. His father’s business was located on the Lake of Two Mountains, at the beginning and end of the Canadian fur trading business. Although he came into contact with fur traders, Tuillier-Lacombe was not interested in becoming one of them. He was a prize-winning student at the Collège de Montréal and studied to become a notary. After several years in private employ as a notary, he became the business agent for the Society of Saint Sulpice in Montreal, where he was employed until his death in 1863. In 1835, he married a widow, Léocadie Boucher, but the marriage did not produce any children.
Truilller-Lacombe did not write many literary works, and his reputation as a writer has suffered. He was forty years old when his only novel was published, appearing in installments in L’Album littéraire in 1846 before it was published as a book in 1871. Because he left no notes or diaries, he is often viewed as a dull bureaucrat who spent his life toiling as a notary.
Truillier-Lacombe’s novel, La Terre paternelle, was the first of many French-Canadian romans de la terre, or novels about the land. However, it was different from many of the later novels of this genre because it was more realistic. The novel was set in places familiar to Trullier-Lacombe: the area where he spent his childhood and the city of Montreal, where he lived as an adult. The book contains several features typical of romans de la terre, including the writing style, the opposition of the evil town to the bucolic country, and the juxtaposition of family generations as either good or evil.
The younger generation, in the character of Charles Chauvin, eventually saves the family from a life of poverty and unhappiness. In the novel, the father gives his farm to his eldest son and becomes a merchant, an occupation for which he is ill-suited. Eventually the family suffers through much hardship, including the death of the elder son and a descent into poverty in Montreal. The theme of the wanderer was another common idea in the romans de la terre. However, unlike many heroes of the style, Chauvin was a reluctant fur transporter who endured many hardships and eventually rejected a wandering lifestyle, returning to the family with money and the desire to settle into farming. Truillier-Lacombe’s writing saves the book from becoming a typical novel of the romans de la terre genre, and his use of realism to depict life in the nineteenth century demonstrates the maturity of his writing in the early years of Canadian literature.