The Golden Dog was a novel by William Kirby (1817-1906) that was written between April 1869 and 1872, with further revisions being up through 1876. After being rejected by several publishers, the work was finally arranged to be published in 1877 by Lovell, Adam, Wesson and Company. However, because the publisher neglected to register the novel, the author lost any royalties to this work. He received a sum total of $100–200 for the publication.

This novel is based upon three works by James MacPherson Le Moine

James MacPherson Le Moine

Sir James MacPherson Le Moine was a Canadian author and barrister.He was involved with the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, helping in the development of their natural history museum, and later serving as president in 1871, 1879-1882, and 1902-1903.From 1894 to 1895, he was the president...

: The Golden Dog, Château Bigot and La Corriveau. It draws upon the historical background of the city of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

for its characters, and tells its story through two intertwining plotlines. The first is of the lady Angélique de Méloizes, Madame de Péan, while the second is of Coronel Pierre Philibert, the son of a prosperous merchant.