The Little Marie-José
Synopsis:
The Little Marie-José was published by Burns, Oates & Washbourne in 1932. It is one of EBD’s very rarest books, so this synopsis will contain much that is new to many readers.
Ch 1 — Petite Mademoiselle is Slapped
Marie José and her family are poor and live on the estate of Comte de Velarney who has a very spoilt daughter Gabrielle who had taken M-J’s kitten some time ago and then tired of it so when G admired M-J’s baby brother she is frightened and runs away with him; Gabrielle comes to tell her off and Marie-Jose shows her anger; Gabrielle hits the baby by mistake and M-J hits her and G runs off to complain to her father. It is all written in a cod-historical ‘thee and thou’ form of language. It is obviously set before the Revolution in the days of Louis XIV.
Ch 2 — The Flight from the Hut
Father comes home from work to find their belongings wrapped ready for flight; mother tells him what happened and suggests the best idea is to make for the nearest port in an attempt to join the King’s call for volunteers to go to found New France. A friend from the chateau calls to advise them to hurry and suggests M-J be disguised as a boy. They set off and at the end of the day settle down under a tree to sleep.
Ch 3 — The Abbé de Velarney
As they are about to fall asleep the Abbé speaks to them (typically EBD, he is old, gentle frail and kindly); they tell him they are going to try the journey to New France and ask for his blessings; he invites them to share his supper but they demur, however he persuades them to come. When they are about to sit down to food they find out that he is related to the Comte de Velarney and look uncomfortable. When he asks what is wrong M-J comes out with the story of the kitten and Gabrielle and why they are running away. To their surprise the Abbé is sympathetic and urges them to stay. He also realises M-J is a girl; his housekeeper, Louise, is also sympathetic and suggests a way the family can get to Tours and on to Nantes; she also offers better clothes for the family as disguise; the Abbé also finds a little money for them.
Ch 4 — The Road to Tours
On the way to Tours the family are stopped by men looking for them but in their new clothes they are not suspected. They stay overnight in an inn and then make their way to see Louise’s brother Guillaume who will help them.
Ch 5 — The Little House in Tours
They tell their story to Guillaume who is sympathetic and has good advice; he doesn’t know when the next ship to the New World will sail and suggests they stay with him and he will ask a friend to find out about sailings from Nantes. He also suggests M-J’s father learns to read and write and that they pretend to be his relations. There are a lot of references to the RC religion in the book (I imagine this was written not long after EBD’s conversion)
Ch 6 — Weeks of Peace
Not much happens other than they learn that the next ship to New France won’t be until next spring; finally they learn that a ship to NF will be sailing in seven weeks so they arrange to leave Tours by a river ship to Nantes. Before they leave the Abbé visits and warns them that the Comte and his daughter are still set on revenge and one evening the M-J’s father sees them in their coach in Tours, on the way
to Paris. Guillaume and his brother Simon decide to accompany them to
Nantes and all is well.
Ch 7 — Embarked for New France
The family spend some days in Nantes and are advised to retain Guillaume’s surname of Breton for safety’s sake. They are accepted as emigrants to New France and finally set sail after a tearful farewell to Guillaume and Simon
Ch 8 — Across the Blue Seas
At first they are sea sick, apart from the baby Jeannot but soon recover. A gentleman takes an interest in the children for a while. Jean-Marie continues his studies in reading and writing in preparation for the new life and he and Francoise hope to get a little farm of their own. After some weeks the ship runs into a hurricane and the family spend a lot of time praying. Eventually the hurricane dies away
Ch 9 — Cast Away!
There is storm damage to the ship, especially the steering gear and masts and the crew are worried they might end up in the English colonies, which are described as heretic, Puritan and witch finders. There are references to the torture of RCs. The captain talks to some priests on board and the Jesuit then seeks out Jean-Marie (not clear why him in particular) and tells him the situation. Everyone gathers their most important possessions and gets ready to get on the boats - the gentleman who had been interested in M-J comes up to the family and gives them some money, there is a hint he may be related to the Comte’s family. The boat with Marie-Jose and family sets off – there are some other people on it too, including the Jesuit priest. Eventually they sight land and manage to get there safely - they see a village, a church, fire and sounds of life and a boy sees them and goes off, presumably to report their arrival.
Ch 10 — New Fowey
This chapter starts with the people of New Fowey going about their business when a lad, Jan Tredegar, tells them what he has seen. The Squire is sympathetic and says we must go and help the poor people. Most of the villagers are kind to the French though the schoolmaster is depicted as severe, steely, frowning and with thin lips and not too pleased to see the little group. He soon sets out for the nearest town to lay information about the arrival of the party of French settlers. When the village leaders realise what he has done it is clear they don’t approve and in any case don’t like him as he is harsh with his pupils. The Squire tries to arrange for a local sailor to take them to safety in his ship but before they can make their escape the schoolmaster and the local Commissioners, soldiers and witch finders arrive and there is an altercation - the Jesuit is taken prisoner - they take his rosary and crucifix and break them so M-J attacks them and is struck across the face. Her father defends her and is captured. All the French are taken away as prisoners.
Ch 11 — In Prison
The journey to prison is depicted in some detail and is not pretty; the Puritans are almost unanimously depicted as brutal and violent while the Jesuit is shown as saintly. EBD depicts of Puritan prayers as ‘droning forth, in the horribly nasal accents affected by the Puritans, a long whining prayer’. Marie-José had been tied less firmly than the others and the priest calls her to get a knife he happened to have concealed in his boot and then free the prisoners so as to make their escape - he shows her the pole star and says to follow it northwards. He also says that if there is not time to free him, to leave him behind. However they are soon tied up more firmly and the chance of escape disappears and they are taken to Newtown. One of the puritan commissioners, Master Bovill, is shown as more merciful than the others. When the party arrives in Newtown children throw stones at the priest and Master Bovill tells them not to interfere with the prisoners. The prisoners spend time in gaol with little to eat and then hear that the Jesuit is being burned at the stake and Marie-José faints when she hears it. Jeannot is already poorly and M-J becomes feverish and very ill. A doctor is called and wants to take the family to his home but only succeeds in having them moved to a better room in the prison. The doctor is very attentive to M-J and slowly she gets better; Jeannot’s problems were in teething and soon improved. After nearly a month they are taken to court for trial.
Ch 12 — Will Ye Renounce?
The prisoners are taken to court; the others are questioned before Marie-José’s family and sentenced to various punishments; M-J and family are taken to a cell to be questioned by Master Marvell the judge who hopes to make them recant their religion. The doctor who had helped M-J is the translator and we see the family from his point of view - he recognises that they are pious and unlikely to recant and as he is privately not a Puritan by conviction but just for convenience he wonders what will happen. The family are taken back to a cell but on the way Francoise, M-J’s mother sees Master Bompas from the village where they had landed - he puts a finger to his lips so she is hoping that he will help them. They discuss this and M-J mentions she still has the knife the Jesuit gave her. The doctor comes to talk to them; he says that if they recant they will be separated and the parents put to work, Francoise in Marvell’s kitchen and Jean-Marie on a farm; the little boy will stay with his mother while M-J will be taken in by the mother of the young Commissioner who had shown some mercy to the family earlier. The parents refuse to consider this and are told that if they do not recant their religion they will instead be sent as slaves to plantations in the south. They still refuse and the doctor leaves. Suddenly Master Bompas twists the iron bars of the cell and jumps in.
Ch 13 — Escape!
Bompas indicates that they must be very quiet; he and Bovill had conspired to save them. They are going to steal horses from Master Marvell’s stable and take the family to Gaynor where Bovill’s uncle, a boat builder lives, and ask him to take them to Quebec; they will themselves stay on for a while to avoid suspicion. The climb out of the cell and go to Bovill’s home where his mother has a change of clothes ready, so that they look like Puritans. The doctor saw them go by chance but said nothing.
Ch 14 — The Fight with the Bears
The trip to Gaynor went through virgin forest mostly used by Indians who, luckily, were friendly to the settlers. After settling down for the night the horses become unsettled and they are on the look-out to see what has spooked them. Three hungry bears appear, attracted by the smell of the horses. There is a terrible fight which ends with bears killed but Bompas in particular is badly hurt. The horses hurt themselves in their fright so the journey to Gaynor will take longer than estimated. Bompas points out that this might not be a bad thing as the soldiers looking for the escapees might go to the uncle in Gaynor and he will say in all honesty that he has not seen them.
Ch 15 — Strangers come to Gaynor
It is September and we meet Joel Bovill of Gaynor; four strangers come to see him and ask if his nephew and some others have come to see him. He answers truthfully in the negative and when the party ask him to put them up for the night refuses, saying he has no room for them. Marvell and party spend the night at the inn and then go off in the wrong direction. Meanwhile Joel prepares for the arrival of his nephew and party who arrive discreetly 4 days later. Joel asks them in and looks at Bompas’ arm and treats it. Bompas continues to be feverish and ill and Francoise makes a herbal concoction for him and nurses him and we are told that eventually he makes a full recovery. Joel starts looking for someone to take the four French to Quebec and eventually persuades Daniel Milsom to take them to Cape Breton Island, where there were some French colonies so that was acceptable. The locals proved clothes for the family and eventually they leave Gaynor, wondering what had happened to the other passengers on the great ship.
Ch 16 — New France at Last!
The journey to Cape Breton starts well but two days later a storm brews up; the family are frightened because of their previous experiences but eventually they come to shore and by good luck it is a French speaking colony where they end up. They learn that their original ship had arrived with most of the passengers. They go on to Quebec with the Milsoms and were met by a messenger from the Governor - who, surprise, surprise, turns out to be the young man who befriended Marie-José on the ship. The Milsoms were invited to land and refresh themselves but decided to go back home in view of the weather.
Ch 17 — After Strife, Peace
The young man took them to meet Frontenac, the Governor and they told their story and what had befallen the others in their party. They find their belonging from the ship intact; it is winter now so they have to wait for spring for a farm. Jean-Marie becomes a messenger in the meantime and M-J goes to an Ursuline convent. In the spring they are given a small manor called Le Foret and settled down. A new daughter is born to them next year who they name Mercie. One evening Marie-José and her mother are sitting talking about what had happened since M-J smacked Gabrielle and M-J says she would like to see all the people who had helped them to escape. Later the young nobleman who had befriended Marie-José visits and says he has to go back to France to collect his cousin and daughter who have been banished to New France and asks M-J to help the daughter when they arrive (we can all see where this is leading).
Ch 18 — The coming of the Strangers
At Christmas twins arrive, Noel and Natalie so Marie-José now stays at home to help her mother. A letter arrives from Simon Breton with news of their original home. The reading of the letter is interrupted by a knocking on the door; it is the young gentleman with his cousin and his daughter and he would like them to stay one night with the family - guess who!!
Ch 19 — Gabrielle
M-J and family recognise them at once and are horrified, especially as Gabrielle is her usual haughty self. Her uncle reminds her of her new position and she becomes less proud. However when it is clear that she will have to share a bed with M-J she makes another great fuss but has to agree in the end and they all settle down for the night.
Ch 20 — ‘Where have I seen You before?’
The story of how the Comte came to be banished is related and how they arrived so early in Canada; caught in a blizzard they made for the Breton’s manor for safety. In the morning the chores are being carried out. Gabrielle wakens eventually and demands help to dress; Francoise forbids M-J to help her and when Gabrielle protests at this in a very rude way M-J tells her what she thinks of her. Later, Gabrielle appears in a very thin dress and is offered one of M-J’s which she initially refuses but is told by her father not to behave so badly. She goes upstairs to change and suddenly says to Marie-José that she knows her and where did they meet before
Ch 21 — Faithful Forgiveness
Marie-José hedges and answers some of Gabrielle’s questions but does not proffer any more. She tells a bit of the journey to New France and also talks of her faith. Time passes and Gabrielle becomes accustomed to life with the Breton family until such time as the weather will permit going to her new home. Finally they are able to go there. Some time later Uncle Simon, Guillaume and Tante Louise arrive which is a delightful surprise for them all. Gabrielle, now much improved, entertains the Breton family and M-J says something which makes her realise who she is. Gabrielle apologises for her past behaviour and all is forgiven. Gabrielle marries a young nobleman and Marie-José is asked in marriage by John Bovill but refuses him because of his religion; finally he converts and they are married.