1 h 47 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What holds a promise together when exile tears a whole village apart?
In Grand-Pré, meadows lie behind dikes, and pines and hemlocks stand near the sea. Evangeline Bellefontaine looks toward marriage with Gabriel Lajeunesse, the blacksmith’s son. Then British ships arrive in the bay of Minas. When the men and boys are ordered into the church, the village’s quiet life gives way to the threat of forced exile.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s long narrative poem follows Evangeline as she searches for Gabriel among Acadians scattered across America. Its prologue and two parts carry you from a farming village into a landscape of separation and longing. Through the betrothal, the gathering in the church, and the long search, a question persists: how much can devotion endure when home and certainty disappear?
What you’ll discover
- A village before exile Enter Grand-Pré through its meadows, sea tides, and the dikes its farmers build.
- A promise under threat Share Evangeline and Gabriel’s hopes as news of British ships unsettles their village.
- The church gathering Watch a familiar place become a trap as the men gather to hear orders.
- Devotion across distance Follow a steadfast woman whose love keeps her searching through exile and uncertainty.
- A rolling verse line Feel how Longfellow’s dactylic hexameter carries landscapes and longing in a loose, swaying rhythm.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like a story of love and loss set against real history, and for anyone curious about the Acadians. It may suit you less if you want fast plotting or modern, clipped language.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Grand-Pré is a village at peace
- A betrothal is signed under a darkening sky
- The church becomes a trap
- Evangeline begins her long search
- Faithfulness and loss are what the poem is about
- A long line and a landscape tell the story
Who’s who
- Evangeline BellefontaineA gentle and steadfast young woman of Grand-Pré who loves Gabriel and, after the village is lost, sets out to find him.
- Gabriel LajeunesseThe blacksmith's son, promised to Evangeline, who is carried away by the exile and becomes the goal of her search.
- Benedict BellefontaineEvangeline's father, a wealthy and trusted farmer who hopes for justice from the crown and wishes to see his daughter married.
- Basil LajeunesseThe village blacksmith and Gabriel's father, a blunt and doubtful man who is a friend of Benedict and wishes the match well.
- Father FelicianThe village priest, who blesses the betrothal and urges his people toward patience, prayer and forgiveness in their trouble.
- Leblanc the notaryThe old village notary who draws up the marriage contract and tells tales of the past at the betrothal feast.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 1 h 47 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Évangéline in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Poetry & DramaFree to read
Évangéline
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow· 1847
An Acadian woman searches for her love after forced exile.
Excellent
- The whole book free
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
Opens right away, on any device
Read the whole book freeNo sign-upNothing to pay
Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Grand-Pré is a village at peace
The poem opens with a long look at the land. A forest of pines and hemlocks stands near the sea, and below it lie the meadows of Grand-Pré, held back from the tides by dikes the farmers built. The Acadians are French-speaking Catholics, and Longfellow shows them as honest, simple and close to each other. Doors have no locks, because there is nothing to fear and nothing to hide.
At the center of the village stands the farm of Benedict Bellefontaine, a rich and respected farmer who is old now and a widower. His daughter Evangeline is seventeen. She is the light of his house, and she is known for her kindness and for her calm, clear eyes. Young men of the village look at her, but her heart belongs to one of them.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807–1882 · American poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of America's most celebrated nineteenth-century poets, a Harvard professor whose works — Evangeline, Paul Revere's Ride, and The Song of Hiawatha — made him a household name on both sides of the Atlantic.
“This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,”
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All 3 books
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Évangéline
Is the whole book really free?
Yes. Évangéline is one of 200 complete books that are free to read and hear, with no sign-up and nothing to pay. Start free and you also get 200,000+ more classics, the 15-minute summaries, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is Evangeline about?
It is a narrative poem about Evangeline, an Acadian girl who is separated from her betrothed, Gabriel, when the British force the Acadians from their homes in 1755. She spends years searching for him.
Is Evangeline a true story?
The poem is fiction, but it rests on a real event, the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia that began in 1755. Longfellow published it in 1847, after hearing the outline of the tale from a friend.
Who are the Acadians?
The Acadians were French-speaking settlers in Acadia, a region of eastern Canada that includes Nova Scotia. After the British forced thousands of them out, many scattered, and some settled in Louisiana, where their descendants are called Cajuns.
Popular in poetry and plays
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
