A Great and Noble Scheme

The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland

By: John Mack Faragher

Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1755, New England troops embarked on a "great and noble scheme" to expel 18,000 French-speaking Acadians ("the neutral French") from Nova Scotia, killing thousands, separating innumerable families, and driving many into forests where they waged a desperate guerrilla resistance. The right of neutrality - to live in peace from the imperial wars waged between France and England - had been one of the founding values of Acadia. Its settlers traded and intermarried freely with native Mikmaq Indians and English Protestants alike.

But the Acadians' refusal to swear unconditional allegiance to the British Crown in the mid-18th century gave New Englanders, who had long coveted Nova Scotia's fertile farmland, pretense enough to launch a campaign of ethnic cleansing on a massive scale.

John Mack Faragher draws on original research to weave 150 years of history into a gripping narrative of both the civilization of Acadia and the British plot to destroy it.

©2005 John Mack Faragher (P)2019 Tantor

Weak narration

The content may have been interesting, but the narrator's voice was so thin and the copious amounts of French were so painfully rendered that it was not pleasant to listen to.

Great story, problematic narration

This is a fascinating book but I have to agree with a previous review that the awkward pronunciation of the abundant French names was painful to the ears. Otherwise the narration was decent, but surely in all of bilingual Canada there is a reader who can pronounce both languages.

A family history

Wonderful recorded history - such detail and I even heard a family name mentioned through out - I doubt most are even are aware of the history

Absolutely fascinating

As an Californian, I can’t say that I have ever dreamed of reading the history of early Nova Scotia. But I was absolutely astonished to see the connections between the story of the Acadians and the development of American history. This book is thorough, engaging, and gives tremendous insight into the events in eastern North America, as well as places like “Cajun” Louisiana, in the mid-18th century - the exact time when revolutionary fervor was beginning to form in the United States. The Acadians’ refusal to take up arms in often spurious British wars eventually led to their cruel removal. But how relevant that is to a similar sentiment among the American colonials! Neutrality may be a noble end, but it often comes with a heavy price. The only small criticism I might make is the author’s implication that average New Englanders wanted the removal. It is important to remember that in 1755 they were not Americans yet, and had absolutely no say in this operation, which originated in London.

Informative and Engaging

Very interesting account of history. Good narration also. I have listened to this book twice now, and will again as there is a lot of detail.