For the first time in 20 years, bestselling mystery writer Louise Penny did not tour the U.S. after releasing a novel — except for one stop: the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which famously sits on the border between Vermont and Quebec.
On Saturday night, Penny spoke onstage to a crowd of around 400 people in the Haskell Opera House. The event was completely sold out, as is the event she is hosting on Sunday.
Penny is Canadian, and canceled her planned appearances in the U.S. this fall in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and other actions.
“I don’t think there is a country that has been invaded, or peoples that have been rounded up, or individuals who have been targeted, who haven’t thought… when was that moment we could’ve stood up and said something?” Penny said Saturday. “This is my moment, and I could, and if I didn’t, then shame on me.”
Penny’s books have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide.
The Black Wolf, released Tuesday, is the 20th book in her Chief Inspector Gamache novels. The series is set in the fictional border town of Three Pines, Quebec.
Penny said one of the questions her book asks is, “What happens when certain elements decide Canada should be the 51st state of the United States?”
When she wrote the book, she said she wondered if she’d gone too far. Now, she wonders if she went far enough.
“This book was written a year before any of this happened — before Trump was elected, before the whole 51st state debacle, before this whole attack on the library,” she said.
For 121 years, Canadians were able to enter the library through the door in Derby Line, Vermont without having to go through customs. A recent U.S. Customs and Border Protection directive requires that Canadian citizens enter through Canadian soil.
The Haskell has been raising funds to update the back entrance to be wheelchair accessible, and to build a new sidewalk and parking lot.
A portion of the proceeds from this weekend's ticket sales will be donated to help offset the costs of updating the library's Canadian-only entrance. That donation will also be matched by Penny.
Outside at the Derby Line entrance, people began lining up to see Penny an hour before the doors opened.
Cathy Byrne and Robert Casale drove across the U.S. from their home city of Anacortes, Washington to attend this event.
The two are big fans of Louise Penny, and were drawn to the symbolism of seeing her speak at the Haskell.
“I think it’s really great to support the unity between Canada and the U.S.,” Byrne said.
Ellen and Richard Levesque live in Putney. Richard is also a Canadian citizen.
They both support Penny’s decision to cancel her U.S. tour.
“We’re trying to make friends with some Canadians,” Ellen said on the way into the building.
Penny said she finds hope in believing in the decency of most people, regardless of their political beliefs.
“Goodness exists. I think we need to remember that,” she said. “And that is a choice, that’s an act of will, that is a revolutionary act: to choose decency.”
