Have you heard of Bruno, Chief of Police? My best Francophile friend from Colby College, junior year in Caen, France, 1973, Penny, who is now retired and enjoys a part time job as a substitute librarian in the Hull Public Library, Hull, Massachusetts, discovered this delightful series of light, humorous mysteries which take place near Les Eyzies, Dordogne, Southwest France. Penny knows this region well, having co-led one of our “small group gourmet Southwestern France tours” there a few years ago. We have been running tours of Southwestern France to this region since 1998 and have a wonderful group of happy guests who have explored the region with us. If you have landed on this blog post, you may well be one of them.
Penny has me hooked on the series. Here is a good description of the author, Martin Walker, and why the series has become so popular:
https://shepherd.com/best-books/perigord-france
Thanks to Penny and the Hull Library, I have read all the books about Bruno that are listed below and loved every single one.
The Chronology of Bruno
- Bruno, Chief of Police (2008)
- Dark Vineyard (2009)
- Black Diamond (2010)
- The Crowded Grave (2011)
- The Devil’s Cave (2012)
- The Resistance Man (2013)
- Children of War (2014)
- The Patriarch (2015)
If you are a fan of the Bruno series, I highly recommend that you consider traveling to the Dordogne region of France—especially the area around the fascinating village of Les Eyzies—which is the neighborhood Bruno lives in and brings to life in each of his entertaining stories.
Les Eyzies is one of the most fascinating areas of Europe I have ever been to. It is the birthplace of the science of prehistoric man. The mountains in this region are “tuffeau” stone and easily dug into with simple tools. This is probably why more prehistoric caves have been discovered in this region than in any other part of the world. On our tours you can visit caves that contain authentic drawings from the Megalithic Period of human history. Expert guides explain the significance of the 35,000 year old drawings, which anthropologists believe were religious expressions from the earliest times.
Every time I visit these caves I get serious goose bumps in picturing our human predecessors when they were developing traditions that evolved over thousands of years into who we are today.
The Dordogne region of Southwest France is also known by its ancient name, Le Périgord. In the Bruno novels you read about the gastronomy of this region—said to be the best in all France. Olde Ipswich Tours takes you to some of the best restaurants in the Périgord, because this is what the Périgord is all about. For example, truffles. Everyone knows about truffles and their magical taste which causes them to be the most sought after mushroom in the world. The terrain of the Périgord region happens to be particularly ideal for truffle growing, and so you will find truffles on the menu of every gourmet restaurant and in every local market. Bruno’s stories are full of truffle stories.
Then there is foie gras. The Périgord is the capital of foie gras. Don’t worry…if you think force feeding geese and ducks to fatten their livers is cruel, we will take you on a foie gras educational experience where the farmer will convince you that this is not at all a cruel process, but in fact one that dates to pre-Roman times and is especially kind to the animals!
We hope you will read one of the Bruno books, become enamored of the Dordogne Périgord region of France, and let us show you around on our small group gourmet educational tours of the Dordogne region in France, in our Bordeaux, Dordogne & Languedoc tour.
To learn more about our tour to Bordeaux, Dordogne & Languedoc tour, click here. We hope to hear from you soon!
Jean Moss,
Owner, Olde Ipswich Tours