French-Canadian Heritage in New England

Brault has ably managed to weave the dual history of French Canadians -- Acadians and Quebecois -- into the fabric of his account of the history and development of Franco-American culture and its contemporary situation. Drawing upon historical works and the literature of the period, the author provides a detailed description of early life in Quebec and Acadia and analyses the forces which led to migration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Brault is himself an American of French-Canadian descent. A brief account of his own family history provides important insights into the experience of being Franco-American, and offers a perspective from which it is possible to understand how members of this group can feel close to Canada and to France while remaining solidly and patriotically American.