Extraordinary Canadians: Maurice Richard

Born in 1921 into a working-class family, Maurice Richard came of age as a French Canadian and an athlete during an era when the majority population of Quebec slumbered. A proud, reticent man, Richard aspired only to score goals and win championships for the Montreal Canadiens. But he represented far more than an explosive forward who filled seats in NHL arenas; Richard’s on-ice ferocity and off-ice dignity echoed the change in Quebec. The March 1955 “Richard Riot” contained the seeds of transformation. And by the time he retired in 1960, Quebec had begun to reinvent itself as a modern, secular society. Charles Foran argues that the province’s passionate identification with Richard’s success and struggles emboldened its people and changed Canada irrevocably.“These books are … opportunities to deepen the relationship between Canadians of the past and Canadians of the present. May this dialogue continue, so that today’s biographers themselves will be the subject of the next wave of writers.” —The Globe and Mail

“The books would be a lovely addition to any library … they’re accessible and ready to be read by all.” —The Nova Scotian (Sunday Herald)

“[The series is] entertaining, literary and informative.” —National Post

CHARLES FORAN is a Member of the Order of Canada and a senior fellow at Massey College in the University of Toronto. He is the author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, and has won many awards and honours, including the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Jewish Book Award, the RBC Taylor Prize, and the Writers’ Trust Fellowship. He is currently the Executive Director of the Writers’ Trust of Canada. He lives in Toronto.