The Siege of Quebec is famous as a grand clash between generals on the Plains of Abraham, but there was much more to the story. A 250-year-old cannonball still visible in the base of an elm tree on Rue Saint-Louis in the old city area of Quebec, a world heritage site, is part of the tale. The house nearby was a centre of aristocratic social life hosted by Madame Péan (born Angélique des Meloizes). The corrupt Intendant François Bigot, the civic administrator of Quebec, was getting rich by selling scarce food to the army at exorbitant prices. He became the lover of Madame Péan with the approval of her husband, another corrupt city official who was appointed as Bigot’s assistant and also became wealthy.

In the Seven Years’ War, Britain and France were fighting for control of North America. Quebec City, the capital of New France, was under siege for months while British warships attacked it with cannonballs in the summer of 1759. The people of Quebec were suffering inflation and a scarcity of supplies. When the British were victorious at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the city surrendered, and the rest of the colonies followed – the end of New France. Bigot and Péan returned to Paris and were imprisoned for their crimes of embezzlement. Madame Péan later dedicated her life to helping the Parisian poor, especially Canadian refugees who had fled Canada after the war.