Suzanne Martel

Suzanne Chouinard Martel (October 8, 1924 – July 29, 2012) was a French Canadian journalist, novelist and children's writer.

Life

Suzanne Chouinard was the daughter of Francis Xavier Chouinard, clerk of Quebec City between 1927 and 1961 and Lady Couillard, who resided at rue de Bernières in Quebec City until 1963. Her younger sister Monique became well known in Quebec as Monique Corriveau, the author of more than twenty novels for teenagers.

Amazed by the universe of the novels of Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book), the Chouinard sisters invented an imaginary country, the Gotal, home to those they call "People in the wall". As children and teenagers, they wrote the adventures of these forty fictional characters they get to know as well as their own family. They were so attached to their writing that, when they reached twelve years old, their mother reportedly forbade them to write more than eight hours a day. Later, when they reached adulthood, they selected, in turn, a Montcorbier clan member and wrote of his adventures. This would become the most voluminous saga of the literary history of Quebec. Prior to the death of Monique Corriveau in 1976, the two sisters had written one for the other fifteen novels on their respective heroes. This saga remains largely unpublished to date.

Suzanne Martel studied at École des Ursulines, Quebec, then continued her studies in literature and languages at the University of Toronto.

She worked as a journalist for Le Soleil in 1945, then as a freelancer in 1946.

After World War II, Martel came to live in Outremont with Maurice Martel, her husband, who was a lawyer. In subsequent years, the writer gave birth to six boys (Paul, Bernard, Luc, Éric, Alain-Anadi and Yves) who quickly became her primary audience.

Martel's first book was published in 1963, Quatre Montréalais en l'an 3000, a young-adult science fiction novel (published in English as The City Under Ground, 1964).

Awards

Martel's book Jeanne, Fille du Roy (translated as The King's Daughter), is frequently read in highschool in Quebec and Ontario. She has won numerous awards, including: Governor-General's Literary Awards (1994, Une belle journée pour mourir) The Canada Council Children's Literature Prize (1982, Nos amis robots) Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award (1981, The King's Daughter) Air Canada Prize (1979 for a news story) Canadian Authors' Association Awards Program Vicky Metcalf Body of Work Award (1974) Alvine-Bélisle ASTED Prize (1974, Jeanne, Fille du Roi) Province of Quebec Prize (1968, Lis-moi la baleine) First Château Prize (1967, Fille du Roi) Federal Centennial Prize (1967, Un trop bon diable) ACELF Prize (1962, Surréal 3000; 1963, Lis-moi la baleine; 1979, Nos amis robots)

Works

Quatre Montréalais en l'an 3000 (Montreal: Éditions du jour, 1963); English, The City Under Ground, illustrated by Don Sibley (Viking Press, 1964, ), translated by Norah Smaridge