Arlette Cousture

Arlette Cousture, OC CQ (born April 3, 1948) is a Canadian writer. She writes historical fiction, often depicting the lives of women in Quebec.^[1][2] Many of her novels have become best-sellers in the French language.^[3]

Arlette Cousture
Cousture
Born	(1948-04-03) April 3, 1948 (age 77) Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada
Genre	Novel
Notable works	Les Filles de Caleb

Early life

Cousture was born in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from collège Sainte-Marie.^[4]

Career

As a young woman, Cousture worked at Radio-Canada television. She later worked in radio and as a journalist. She worked in communications at Hydro Quebec.^[4]

In the 1980s Cousture wrote a pair of best-selling novels, Les filles de Caleb, about the life of a young teacher in rural Quebec.^[5][6][7] The stories later became the basis of a television series^[8][9] and were translated into English.^[10][11] Cousture later wrote more stories about the novels' heroine, Emilie.

In the 1990s Cousture wrote a two-volume story, Ces Enfants d'ailleurs, about a Polish family's move to Canada during World War II.^[4]

Awards and honours

In 1998, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2012, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.^[12]