ROY, GABRIELLE

married name Mrs. Marcel Carbotte born March 25, 1909, St. Boniface, Man., Can. died July 13, 1983, Quebec French-Canadian novelist praised for her skill in depicting the hopes and frustrations of the poor. Roy taught school for a time, studied drama in Europe (193739), then returned to Canada and began her writing career. Her studies of poverty-stricken working-class people in the cities include Bonheur d'occasion (1945; The Tin Flute) and Alexandre Chenevert, caissier (1954; The Cashier). Some of her novels, such as La petite poule d'eau (1950; Where Nests the Waterhen) and Rue Deschambault (1955; Street of Riches), deal with isolated rural life in Manitoba. She also wrote a book of semi-autobiographical stories, La route d'Altamont (1966; The Road Past Altamont), and a novel based on her experiences as a schoolteacher, Ces enfants de ma vie (1977; Children of My Heart).