As historian, journalist, poet, and editor, Michel Bibaud was almost a one-man literary scene in Montreal between 1815 and 1844. He was the son of a farmer, Michel-Ange Bibaud and his wife, Cécile-Clémence Fresne Bibaud. He did not enter classical college until he was almost nineteen--the age at which most of his fellow students were graduating. After college he immediately started to earn his living as a teacher, unlike the sons of more prosperous families who continued their studies in one of the liberal professions. In 1813, still working as a tutor, as well as a free-lance translator, he addéd journalism to his list of activities. Three years later he published an arithmetic textbook, and the following year started L'Aurore, his own newspaper. L'Aurore lasted from 1817 to 1819 when it was finally sold to Charles-Bernard Pasteur, the proprietor of Le Spectateur Canadien . Part of the agreement...