William Kirby

The Golden Dog William Kirby

The Golden Dog (Le Chien d'Or) was a novel by William Kirby (1817-1906) that was written between April 1869 and 1872, with further revisions being up through 1876. After being rejected by several publishers, the work was finally arranged to be published in 1877 by Lovell, Adam, Wesson and Company. However, because the publisher neglected to register the novel, the author lost any royalties to this work. He received a sum total of $100-200 for the publication. This novel is based upon three works by James MacPherson Le Moine: The Golden Dog, Château Bigot and La Corriveau. It draws upon the historical background of the city of Quebec for its characters, and tells its story through two intertwining plotlines. The first is of the lady Angélique de Méloizes, Madame de Péan, while the second is of Coronel Pierre Philibert, the son of a prosperous merchant William Kirby, The Golden Dog, cover of the first edition (1877) Kirby's importance as a Canadian writer rests largely on his novel The Golden Dog. Taking fifteen years to write, the historical romance was set in New France in 1748. Kirby finished writing this novel in 1873.