The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche

Mazo de la Roche was one of the most successful women writers of the 20th century. Her novel Jalna, the dramatic story of a family dynasty in northern Ontario, skyrocketed her to international fame in 1927 when it won the $10,000 Atlantic Prize Novel award. By the time she died in 1961, 11 million copies of her books had been sold in 93 languages, and the Whiteoaks of Jalna became a beloved CBC miniseries in the 1970s. Despite her fame, her private life remained a mystery. She lived with her lifelong companion, Caroline Clement, in what was then called a "Boston marriage" and they creatively constructed public personas that protected their private lives. Beautifully shot and edited, the film transitions between lush fictional scenes starring Severn Thompson that speculate about de la Roche's private life with Caroline to literary archives and interviews with de la Roche's adopted daughter, biographer Daniel Bratton and acclaimed writers Marie-Claire Blais and Susan Swan. (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)