The Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec

Gratien Allaire is a professor of history at Laurentian University in
Sudbury, Ontario.

First published in 1982, and translated in French in 1986 (Visions
nationales), Susan Mann’s history of Quebec is now considered a
classic. The text for this reissue as part of the prestigious Carleton
Library Series has not been changed, except for the addition of a second
preface.

Survival and nation-building are the central themes of a text that
provides an “analytical narrative with a point of view.” Mann
emphasizes significant events and devotes entire chapters to the
Conquest, the Rebellion, Confederation, and the Second World War, while
treating the 150 years of New France in 15 pages. Hers is social history
that reflects a humanist, literary approach. For example, her analysis
of the 1920s is centred on Lionel Groulx and his influence on Quebec’s
intellectual evolution. She integrates women’s history, intellectual
history, and workers’ history in a fluid narrative that still gives
pride of place to political history.

The new preface deals with the main trends in Quebec historical
interpretation since the 1980s. According to Mann, Quebec historians
like Paul-André Linteau, Jean-Claude Robert, and René Durocher
generally have “shunned nationalism”, while others like Gérard
Bouchard are interpreting Quebec in terms of territory and language (as
opposed to ethnicity) as nation. To some extent, Mann’s interpretation
is a reiteration of the two solitudes, Quebec and the rest of Canada.
She concludes her new preface on a pessimistic note: “Canadians may
awake one day and simply find Quebec gone and we may not event register
the fact.” Despite its age, her book still has much to say about
Quebec’s nationalist dream.