Bury Your Dead Tour

Our two hour Louise Penny “Bury Your Dead” walking tour was wonderful! Our fabulous guide, Marie, began the tour at the Morrin Centre which houses the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. There, the eleven of us (we two Canadians and nine Americans) followed her into the Library where we all sat around the big wooden table and listened as Marie read out loud Louise Penny’s description of Armand Gamache’s experience of that very room. With Marie leading the way, we then proceeded to follow Gamache’s literary footsteps as he investigated the murder of a local amateur archeologist. We explored old Québec City, seeing with our own eyes the places where life and work brought Armand Gamache throughout “Bury Your Dead”.

Marie was a font of all kinds of interesting tidbits of information. She also lead several evocative discussions, pointing out the sometimes blurred boundary between fact and fiction with philosophy, grace and humour. The tour was a fascinating juxtaposition between actual historical events and themes associated with the geography of the book. She showed us the exact house which Louise Penny rented while researching in Quebec City, and which later became Emile’s residence in the book. We walked to several of the locations where Inspector Gamache enjoyed eating and walking; the boulangerie where he bought his bread (as did Louise during her stay), where he purchased his wine, where he enjoyed his café au lait, and where he ate a Moroccan meal. We also saw the house where Louise based her character Elizabeth MacWhirter and had her living in gentile poverty. All these places were first visited by Louise as she absorbed the atmosphere of Quebec City as she skilfully created her story.

At the beautiful Notre Dame Basilica we sat in hushed silence as Marie again read from the book, quoting Gamache’s thoughts as he sat contemplating the exact same view presently before us; the ornate altar, the gem-like stained glass windows, the scent of centuries of worship. It was a very moving moment. There I quietly lit a votive candle before leaving; something I had done often with my mother as a child. It’s particularly poignant now that the prayer I said was for her. She is elderly now and dwells in the halls of dementia, her memories fragmented into a thousand dissonant pieces. As I did so, I thought of Louise Penny who also lived this kind of sorrow and heartache with her Michael.

I highly recommend this lovingly detailed tour. It gave new meaning and connection to the way Louise Penny intricately blends history and mystery. I want to read “Bury Your Dead” for a third time. I know there will be an added richness and nuance to the words which intrigue so many of us fans.