COMING SOON
Angélique – Montreal is Burning
Historical fiction – French-Canadian drama
Slavery
love
torture and death
Canadian criminal court 1734
AUTHOR’S NOTE: why I wrote ‘Angélique – Montréal is Burning ’- details coming soon
Marie-Josèphe was born in 1700, Madeira, Portugal, as an indentured slave. At age fifteen, Marie-Josèphe’s biggest nightmare was realized. She was sold and transported to New England. Labelled as rebellious, Marie-Josèphe was sold for the third time; now to François Poulin de Francheville, a Montréal iron works founder and merchant. Marie-Josèphe was introduced to French colonial society and given the name Angélique; named after her mistress’ dead daughter. At age thirty, Angélique met white indentured-servant, Claude Thibault. Love ensued. When François Poulin de Francheville unexpectedly died, there was talk of Angélique being sold again. Despised by her mistress, Angélique had a fiery temper, was stubborn and willful. Yearning for freedom, Claude and Angélique devised an escape plan. From the day of François Poulin’s death everything went wrong.
During the night of April 10, 1734, Marie-Joseph Angélique, a thirty-four year old slave, was arrested, faced charges of arson, and found guilty of starting the blaze that consumed forty-six buildings, in Montréal. Angélique’s condemners suspected she had not acted alone.