Joseph Quesnel

Quesnel joined the French merchant marine and sailed to Pondicherry and Madagascar, travelled in Africa, and the Caribbean.

[9][10] Quesnel published a number of theatrical works, including Colas et Colinette, which was written in 1788 and first performed in 1790,[7] and Lucas et Cecile;[11][12] he also wrote poetry; his best known poem was titled "L'Épître à M.

[13] Besides several songs, he composed sacred music for the parish church of Montreal,[6] and some motets, and wrote a short treatise on the dramatic art (1805).

[14][15][8] He died of pleurisy at Montreal in 1809 several months after he had dived into the Saint Lawrence River to save a drowning child.

[16] Quesnel was the subject of the comic opera Le Père des amours, written by Eugène Lapierre in 1942.