''Black Robe'', first published in 1985, is a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

by Brian Moore set in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

in the 17th century. Its central theme is the collision of European and Native American cultures soon after first contact.

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples historically called French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priests "Black Robes" because of their

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally, some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious Hermit, eremitic and Anchorite, anchorit ...

. The novel was adapted into the 1991 film ''Black Robe'' directed by

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director, opera director, screenwriter, and producer. He began his career during the Australian New Wave, and has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally ...

, for which Moore wrote the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

Plot

In Quebec, a tribe of Algonquian agree in exchange for muskets to guide the "Black Robe" (Father Laforgue) and his 20-year-old French assistant, Daniel Davost, for a few weeks upriver to a spot beyond a set of

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

. There, Father Laforgue travels onward to the Huron village of Ihonatiria where a Jesuit mission is already established. Along the way, Father Laforgue falls under suspicion of being a demon, and his attempts to baptize (convert) his Algonquian guides are unsuccessful. He is captured by unfriendly

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

, who torture him, but he escapes and eventually arrives at the fever-ridden Huron village. In exchange for promising them a "water cure" for their sickness, the Hurons agree to be baptized.

Themes and analysis

The novel's

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

theme is the collision of two cultures as seen through the spiritual beliefs and practices of heathen Indians and Jesuit priests. According to Moore, what interests him is "the moment in which one's illusions are shattered and one has to live without the faith... which originally sustained them."

Reception

Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', novelist James Carroll described ''Black Robe'' as "an extraordinary novel... in which Brian Moore has brought vividly to life a radically different world and populated it with men and women wholly unlike us. His novel's achievement, however, is that, through the course of its shocking narrative... we recognize its fierce, awful world as the one we live in. We put Mr. Moore's novel down and look at ourselves and our places differently". Anstiss Drake in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' praises the novel's "economy of style, vivid characterizations, spellbinding story and a master's touch... He accomplishes a portrait of native tribespeople that is acute and unsentimental. In Laforgue, Moore gives us a type seldom seen nowadays; he has saintly purity and heroism. Laforgue suffers in both mind and spirit on his quest; for his God he walks into a wilderness from which he will never return".

Translations

* French: ''Robe Noire'', trans. Ivan Steenhout, Payot, 1986, * Italian: ''Manto nero'', trans. M. Murzi, Narrativa Piemme, 1992, * German: ''Schwarzrock'', trans. Otto von Bayer, Zürich:

Diogenes Verlag The Diogenes Verlag (short: Diogenes) is a Swiss publisher in Zurich, founded in 1952 by , with a focus on literature, plays and cartoons. It has been managed since 2012 by the founder's son, Philipp Keel. It is the largest independent literary pub ...

, 1987, * Polish: ''Czarna suknia'', trans. Andrzej Pawelec, Kraków: Graffiti, 1992, * Czech: ''Černé roucho'', trans. Roman Tadič, Praha: Volvox Globator, 2022,

Bibliography

* Hicks, Patrick. "The Language of the Tribes in Brian Moore's 'Black Robe'" in ''Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review'', Vol. 93, No. 372 (Winter, 2004), pp. 415–426. Irish Province of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

*Schumacher, Antje. ''Brian Moore's Black Robe: Novel, Screenplay(s) and Film'' (European University Studies. Series 14: Anglo-Saxon Language and Literature. Vol. 494), Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Language: English , 2010

Notes and references

{{Brian Moore 1985 British novels 1985 Canadian novels New France Novels by Brian Moore (novelist) Canadian historical novels Canadian novels adapted into films * New Canadian Library Novels set in Canada Novels set in the 17th century