MEXICO — Richard F. Mullins, author of “Evangeline: The Novel,” will be guest speaker at the Mexico Historical Society at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. There will also be a book signing.

Mullins was born in New Waterford, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, surrounded by friends of Acadian descent. He graduated from St. Francis Xavier University and has had a successful career as a high school English teacher and a high school principal. He taught on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, at a Blackfoot School in Alberta and at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford. He also taught a course in world literature for Husson College.

Mullins became fascinated with the tragedy of the Acadians when researching his wife’s genealogy and has spent 10 years researching 45 years of Acadian history. His novel is based on the classic “Evangeline,” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1847. The first part is the most historically accurate, but because of little documentation after the deportation “Grand Derangement” period, the second part blends in the love story of Evangeline and her fiance, Gabriel.

“Evangeline: The Novel” is a love story of historical value. Mullins wrote the book for entertainment as well as to educate those who would have an interest in the Acadian tragedy. It has been selected for use in Madawaska High School classrooms this fall. He has been invited to speak at the American/Canadian Genealogy Center in Manchester, N.H. and has been touring Canada and northern Maine this summer.

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