Mindscapes of Montreal

Montreal features prominently in francophone Québécois fiction. This is due, in part, to its differences from other places within Quebec. As the largest urban conurbation, it is the economic and cultural centre, and is more ethnically diverse than anywhere else in the province. Montreal also occupies an almost obssessive presence in the Québécois novel due to its historical association with an anglophone social and business elite, whose prominence was challenged by the post-war nationalism known as the Quiet Revolution, popularly dated as beginning in 1960. The research examines the ways in which Montreal is represented in the contemporary francophone Québécois novel; looking at how and why certain landmarks in the city take on particular importance at various moments in time. In so doing, it considers how literary landscapes connect with material ones in order to inform our understanding and experiencing of the urban in an increasingly urbanised world.