Born Rosanna Mullins in Montreal, Leprohon began writing at an early age. In 1846, while she
was still attending a convent school, her first poems appeared in the Literary garland. Over the
next five years, she had five novels, 15 poems and one story published in this magazine. Her
marriage to Jean-Lukin Leprohon, a francophone physician, and the demise of the Literary
garland in 1851 signalled the end of this stage in her career.
During her early married years, Leprohon's creative output dwindled to only an occasional poem.
However, by 1859 she had resumed writing, and her novel Eveleen O'Donnell was serialized in
The Pilot, a Boston journal. The novel for which she is best known, Antoinette de Mirecourt, or,
Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing, was published in 1864. This work is the second in a
series of three of Leprohon's most popular and critically acclaimed novels. While her earlier
works have non-Canadian settings, these novels are set in Quebec and effectively depict
Québécois history and culture. The French translations of these and other works by Leprohon
were well received by francophones.
Mother to 13 children, Leprohon maintained a prolific writing career. Until her death in 1879,
her work appeared regularly in the Family Herald, Canadian Illustrated News and L'Ordre.
Selected Works by Rosanna Leprohon
-- "The Stepmother". -- The Literary garland. -- (February-June 1847). -- ISSN 08345406
-- Antoinette de Mirecourt, or, Secret marrying and secret sorrowing. -- Ottawa : Carleton
University Press, 1989, c1864. -- ISBN 0886290929 (bd.). -- 274 p.
-- Armand Durand, or, A promise fulfilled. -- Ottawa : Tecumseh Press, 1994, c1868. --
ISBN 0919662463 (bd.)
-- The poetical works of Mrs. Leprohon. -- Montreal : J. Lovell, c1881. -- 228 p.
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Rosanna Leprohon