Hélène B.-Beauséjour

In addition to a weekly column in Le Nouvelliste, Hélène B.-Beauséjour was also responsible for the women’s page from October 1928 to April 1934. In particular, she answered reader correspondence, taking the opportunity to encourage subscribers, both male and female, to engage in social and political debate. Upon her departure, the page was taken over by a woman who wrote under the name Solange.

In addition to having her work appear in a variety of newspapers and magazines, B.-Beauséjour also published two books: Au fil des heures (1935) and Avec mon coeur de femme (1940). In 1941, she was named the founding president of the Grand-Mère branch of the Ligue catholique féminine, a Catholic women’s organization. She finished writing her final manuscript just two months before her death in 1978. In 1980, the municipal library in Grand-Mère was renamed in honour of this great woman.

Farewell message as women’s page editor (April 28, 1934):

 “Friends of the Household Affairs page, patient readers, wise collaborators and charming correspondents of both genders, all of whom are dear to me in so many ways… The time has come to say goodbye. My health has long been demanding that I take a break. From one week to the next, I’ve put off the moment when I would be forced to abandon my ‘writing career,’ thereby depriving myself of the pleasure I’ve found in warmly responding to your many sincere confidences. Can you believe it? My pen trembles in my hand on this evening when I feel more emotion than I could ever put into words, as I confirm before you this decision that I’ve been forced to make and that I am unable, at this time, to consider reversing. When, some five years past, the editor-in-chief of Le Nouvelliste entrusted me with responsibility for the weekly Household Affairs page, I could not have imagined how much I would value and become attached to this deeply enjoyable task.”