Fréchette House
87 MacKay Street
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
This picturesque house is famous as the home of Achille Fréchette and his wife, Annie Thomas Howells, a leading literary couple. Annie Howells was the daughter of the United States consul at Québec, William Cooper Howells. Her brother was the American novelist William Dean Howells, editor of The Atlantic Monthly and a contemporary of authors Mark Twain and Henry James.
In 1877, Annie Howells married Achille Fréchette and the couple moved to Ottawa, where he worked as a translator for the House of Commons. Annie Howells published a novel and numerous short stories and articles, while Fréchette's poems appeared in several periodicals. He was also a member of a group of influential French-speaking poets and authors belonging to the Mouvement Littéraire that came to Ottawa from Québec City when the civil service was transferred to the new capital.
The couple resided at Fréchette House from 1881 until 1921.
