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What is a promise worth when war puts friendship and country on opposite sides?
In Cameron of Lochiel, the world of New France stands on the edge of change. Along the Saint Lawrence River, war and British control reshape the old French colony. Philippe Aubert de Gaspé’s historical romance places private lives against this public upheaval, where loyalty carries a deeply personal cost.
Friendship, family, honor and country pull in different directions. The story invites you to consider what people owe one another when nations divide them. Its slower pace leaves room for customs, landscape and conversation, drawing you toward the texture of a society whose familiar ways face an uncertain future.
What you’ll discover
- A world facing change Enter New France as war and uncertainty unsettle the life of the old colony.
- Friendship across divided loyalties Consider the strength of personal bonds when conflict puts allegiance under strain.
- The weight of honor Explore the competing claims of family, country and friendship in a time of upheaval.
- Room to linger Spend time with customs, landscape and talk rather than rushing from event to event.
- History through private lives See how the fall of New France gives questions of loyalty their urgency.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you love historical fiction with a warm heart, tales of deep friendship, old songs and feasts, ghost stories by firelight, and life in French Canada.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two boys become like brothers
- Shared stories bring people together
- Archie risks himself for a stranger
- Hospitality belongs beside rank and ceremony
- A warning shadows the summer celebrations
- Older voices offer lessons before departure
- Military obedience turns against family love
- Memory preserves a threatened way of life
- Friendship gives the customs their stakes
Who’s who
- Jules D'HabervilleA quick-witted young Canadian, the college favorite and a tireless teaser, with a generous heart and a fierce love for his friend and family.
- Archie Cameron of LochielA Highland orphan who fled Scotland after Culloden, strong and reserved, who finds a second family in Quebec and must serve the British army.
- Captain D'HabervilleJules's father, a soldier of the Colonial Marine and a proud seigneur who finds it hard to forgive any injury.
- JoséThe captain's foster brother and the faithful servant of the house, a storyteller who guards the family's honor and loves his late father's tales.
- Uncle RaoulThe chevalier, a lame soldier and Latin pedant who runs the household and curses the English with great flourish.
- Blanche D'HabervilleJules's wise, patriotic sister, who has a strong sense of duty to her family and her country.
- DumaisA brave habitant of St. Thomas whose life Archie saves, and who never forgets the debt.
- M. d'EgmontThe good gentleman, a ruined and kindly old man who lives in a cottage and gives Jules advice from hard experience.
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Cameron of Lochiel
by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé · 1863
Two Quebec students pledge lifelong friendship as war looms over New France.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Soldiers are brothers everywhere, and their sons should be brothers too.”
In short
What happens when your closest friend must one day march under the enemy flag? Cameron of Lochiel opens on a spring day in Quebec in 1757, as two young men leave the Jesuit college and head for home.
Cameron of Lochiel at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 30 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 78,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1863by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two schoolboys swear friendship for life
The story starts in Quebec, where Jules D'Haberville tries his teachers' patience but remains the college favorite. He has a sharp tongue, a generous purse and a code of honor. He never complains to a teacher, and he always settles a score in his own way.
Archie of Lochiel is his opposite. He lost his mother at four. At twelve, in 1745, he saw his father join the prince's rising and fall at Culloden. An uncle carried him to France, and a Jesuit relative sent him to Quebec. Archie takes Jules's pranks badly at first. Then Jules offers to cut his mischief by a third, and the two begin a friendship.
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Details
- First published
- 1863
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Aubert de Gaspé, Philippe. Cameron of Lochiel. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/cameron-of-lochiel.
Aubert de Gaspé, P. (2026). Cameron of Lochiel. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cameron-of-lochiel (Original work published 1863)
Aubert de Gaspé, Philippe. Cameron of Lochiel. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cameron-of-lochiel.
@book{aubertdegaspe2026cameron,
author = {Aubert de Gaspé, Philippe},
title = {Cameron of Lochiel},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cameron-of-lochiel},
note = {First published 1863}
}
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What is Cameron of Lochiel about?
It follows Jules D'Haberville, a young Canadian, and Archie Cameron of Lochiel, a Scottish exile, from their friendship at a Quebec college to the war that makes them serve opposing flags in the fall of New France.
Who is Archie Cameron of Lochiel?
He is a Highland orphan whose father fell at Culloden. Taken to France by an uncle, he studies in Quebec with a Jesuit relative's help, spends his holidays with the D'Haberville family, and later serves in the British army.
Is Cameron of Lochiel a true story?
It is a historical novel by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, written when he was an old man. It mixes invented characters with real events, such as the siege of Quebec and the battles on the Plains of Abraham.
The author
Philippe Aubert de Gaspé
French Canadian novelist
Philippe Aubert de Gaspé was a Canadian writer and lawyer born in Quebec City in 1786. He lived in Quebec City and Saint-Jean-Port-Joli and died in Quebec City in 1871. He published the novel Les Anciens Canadiens, translated as Cameron of Lochiel, in 1863, and his memoirs in 1866.
“Soldiers are brothers everywhere, and their sons should be brothers too.”
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