Élisabeth Bégon

Élisabeth Bégon (née Marie-Isabelle-Élisabeth Rocbert de la Morandière) was born in Montréal in 1696. She is known for the correspondence she wrote to her son-in-law that described the daily life of a French laywoman in New France between 1748 and 1753. Mme Bégon's oeuvre (a collection of written correspondence including letters, nine notebooks, and thirty-nine leaflets ) was published in 1935 under the title Lettres au cher fils. The correspondence was mainly addressed to her son-in-law (Michel de Villebois de la Rouvillière) with whom she is thought to have been in love. Lettres au cher fils only include those letters penned by Élisabeth Bégon herself; no return letters have ever been found. Her correspondence is unique to the writings of New France as it is one of the only known works written by a French Canadian laywoman during this period of time.
The original letters can be found at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.