Crossing the Continent

This is the first in a trilogy that provides us with the back-story to the characters of Michel Tremblay's great Chronicles of Plateau Mont-Royal, particularly of his mother ?Nana,? The Fat Woman Next Door . . . and his maternal grandmother, who, though largely uneducated, was a voracious reader and introduced him to books that would inspire his great literary opus.

One of the most produced and prominent playwrights in Canadian theatre history, Michel Tremblay is considered the father of the Quebec language. His dramatic, literary, and autobiographical works have long enjoyed international popularity.

Sheila Fischman is a Governor General's Award-winning translator.