Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie

Longfellow's Evangeline comes from a true story. The tale of young Emmeline Labiche and the true love of her life, Louis Arceneaux. The pair were separated when the British invaded Nova Scotia in 1755, and Louis (Gabriel in the poem) was forced on a ship and set out to sea. Orphaned, Emmeline was adopted by the family of the Widow Borda, who regarded her as not of this earth, but rather as their guardian angel, and this is why they called her no longer Emmeline, but Evangeline, or God's little angel. The family was exiled to Maryland, but Maryland was no home for them; and eventually the family joined other Acadians in Louisiana. In Louisiana, Evangeline began to search for Louis.