Conflagration: Quebec

Donalee Moulton

ኖቬም 2023 · Canadian Historical Mysteries መጽሐፍ 7 · BWL Publishing Inc.

ኢ-መጽሐፍ

174

ገጾች

ብቁ

የተሰጡት ደረጃዎች እና ግምገማዎች የተረጋገጡ አይደሉም የበለጠ ለመረዳት

ስለዚህ ኢ-መጽሐፍ

On a warm spring day in April 1734, a fire raged through Montreal’s merchant quarters. When the flames finally died, 46 buildings – including the Hôtel-Dieu convent and hospital – had been destroyed. Within hours, rumors ran rampant that Marie-Joseph Angélique, a Black slave fighting for her freedom, had started the fire with her white lover, Claude Thibault. Less than 24 hours later, Angelique was sitting in a prison cell. Her lover was nowhere to be found. More than 20 witnesses appeared before the judge, all claiming Angélique was the arsonist. But no one saw her set the fire.

It didn’t matter. In an era when lawyers were banned from practising in New France, Angélique was on her own. She denied starting the fire. Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document her case, believed Angelique might just be telling the truth. That belief only got stronger after Angélique was tortured – and finally confessed. Her captors used the brodequins to crush Angélique’s leg. Her spirit remained indomitable.

As Angélique was paraded through the streets of Montreal, Incendiare embroidered across the front of her white chemise, Archambeau finally realized what really happened the night Montreal burned to the ground.

ስለደራሲው

Donalee Moulton is a professional writer and editor based in Halifax, N.S. As a professional journalist, donalee’s byline has appeared in more than 100 print and online publications throughout North America and beyond. These include The National Post, Chatelaine, Maclean’s, The Lawyers Weekly, and Canadian Business. She has also written about the cannabis sector, a factor that plays into her mystery.

donalee is the author of author of the book The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say, and she has co-authored Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous. donalee’s short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime, an anthology published by the Crime Writers of Canada.