Clement Marchand is a seminal figure in Quebec literature, standing at the crossroads between the country and the city, between this century and the last. The original French version of this suite of stories, Courriers des villages, was awarded the prestigious Prix David in 1942. Marchand depicts the life and livelihood of Quebec peasants in the days -- before their villages vanished. But even as he is extolling the rural way of life, he chronicles its downfall and writes ironically of those who cling to it. Marchand's stories prefigure the great exodus to the city and the birth of modern Quebec, as it changed from a rural society to an urban one. This is a classic of Quebec literature and culture symbolising the nexus of the past and the modern.