“Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient,
Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman’s devotion,
List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest;
List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the happy.”

Generations of readers have now accepted the call of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to join his heroine Evangeline in her search for Gabriel, the lover she was separated from during the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This critical history of the book-length poem describes its reception in the weeks and months that followed the 1847 release, explains its continued popularity down through the years, and offers insights on its interpretation and relevance today.

Ron McFarland, the author of more than 20 books, is a professor of English at the University of Idaho.

Ron McFarland
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 215
Bibliographic Info: 40 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4217-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5724-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v

Preface: Evangeline’s Quiet Heroism      1

A Longfellow Chronology      17

1. Evangeline and the Popularity of Poetry in the United States      23

2. The Contexts of Longfellow’s Evangeline      36

3. Evangeline Goes to School      61

4. Evangeline Illustrated      93

5. Evangeline on Stage, in Song, and on the Silver Screen      144

6. Reflecting on Evangeline      175

Bibliography      197

Index      203