Lemelin, << LEHM uh lihn, >> Roger (1919-1992), was a French-Canadian author and journalist. Lemelin’s first novel, The Town Below (1944), is his most famous work. In it, he described in realistic detail working-class life in the city of Quebec. The novel includes ironic treatment of the Roman Catholic clergy and of French-Canadian life in general. Critics considered the novel the beginning of a new style and subject matter in French-Canadian literature. Lemelin wrote his novels The Plouffe Family (1948) and In Quest of Splendor (1952) in a style similar to that of The Town Below. His famous short story, “The Stations of the Cross,” is typical of his fiction in its satiric portrayal of a materialistic priest and his ignorant parishioners.
Lemelin was born on April 7, 1919, in the city of Quebec into a working-class family. He was president and publisher of the newspaper La Presse from 1972 to 1980. He died on March 16, 1992.
