While in Clermont, Savard explored the Charlevoix countryside and became well acquainted with the local log drivers.

The mountains of Charlevoix were the setting for his 1937 novel Menaud, maître draveur which made him famous and earned him a medal from the Académie française.

It remains to this day one of the best-known works of Quebec literature.

Like Maria Chapdeleine, the title character Menaud has become a key figure in Quebec's national identity.

He joined the Faculty of Arts at Université Laval in 1945 and from 1950 to 1957 was its dean.