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“Hell is empty, Armand,” said Stephen Horowitz.
‘You’ve mentioned that. And all the devils are here?’ asked Armand Gamache.
‘Well, maybe not here, here’—Stephen spread his expressive hands—’exactly.’
‘Here, here’ was the garden of the Musée Rodin, in Paris, where Armand and his godfather were enjoying a quiet few minutes. Outside the walls they could hear the traffic, the hustle and the tussle of the great city.

But here, here, there was peace. The deep peace that comes not just with quiet, but with familiarity.
With knowing they were safe. In the garden. In each other’s company.” (Pg. 1)

Originally opened in 1919, the Musée Rodin is located at 77 rue de Varenne in what was the Hôtel Biron. Among the many works displayed in the Musée is arguably Auguste Rodin’s most famous sculpture, The Gates of Hell, which features the all-too-familiar figure of The Thinker.

The sculpture – a work that Rodin tinkered with for nearly 40 years and up until the time of his death – plays a major role in the novel. Among other events, it’s where Armand and Stephen sit, at the beginning of the novel, to eat their tartelettes au citron.

The Gates were inspired by Dante’s Inferno of which Rodin said, “For a whole year I lived with Dante, with him alone, drawing the eight circles of his inferno…” He then translated his vision, driven by Dante’s dire warning – Abandon every hope, who enter here – into the massive bronze sculpture that measures nearly 20 feet high and over 13 feet wide.

After spending time contemplating The Gates of Hell – if you haven’t given up hope! – you must venture into the Musée where you’ll not only find more sculptures but thousands upon thousands of drawings and photographs from the rightful heir to Michelangelo who once said, “The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live…”

Trinquons à ça!

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“There were few things more powerful, or destructive, or terrifying, than a hungry bear or a river in full flood.
Gamache knew exactly where the river was heading. While he’d never been along this road before, he knew the area. They weren’t all that far from his own village.
Which meant the roar they heard was the Rivière Bella Bella, heading straight into Three Pines.” (A Better Man, pg. 50-51)

Coldbrook is the stream that runs through the center of Knowlton and empties into Brome Lake. In fact, Knowlton was originally named Coldbrook when it was settled in 1802 by Loyalists from New England and New York.

The Coldbrook is flanked by history and a walk in downtown Knowlton is a trip into the past. Look for the ghosts of Israël England, who built the tannery in 1843, and namesake Paul Holland Knowlton, who constructed the first gristmill in 1836. Both structures are now gone but one can still see the foundation of the tannery and the millstone from the gristmill is located in Coldbrook Park.

A stone’s throw from the stream is the Pettes Memorial Library which opened its doors in 1894 and was the first free rural public library in Québec and the Partridge Building where the H.F. Smith Printing Company operated from 1899 to 1943.

After a day exploring around the banks of the Coldbrook one must simply stop at Auberge Knowlton. Built in 1849 and the oldest hotel in the Eastern Townships, the Auberge houses the Bistro Le Relais, where the Jarrets d’agneau is to die for!

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Light snow covered the other vehicle. It had been there, he guessed, for about half an hour. Not more. Then his eyes returned to the farmhouse.
“It’s been a while since anyone lived here.”
It took a long time to fall into such a state. Lack of care, over the years, would do that.
It was now little more than a collection of materials.
The shutters were askew, the wooden handrail had rotted and gone its separate way from the sloping steps. One of the upper windows was boarded up, so that it looked like the place was winking at him. As though it knew something he did not. (Pg. 2)

The Eastern Townships have been called the “Garden of Canadian Agriculture” and rightfully so. The Province leads the country in the cultivation of dairy, pigs, fruits, berries, nuts and – of course – maple sugar, where you’ll find 42.5 million trees tapped. As of 2016, Québec alone accounted for nearly 29,000 working farms covering over 8 million acres.

Here are some must-see farms when visiting the Eastern Townships.

Bleu Lavande in Magog (bleulavande) “is the pioneer of the Québec lavender culture and is one of the largest lavender farms in Canada.”

Alpacas Sutton (alpagassutton.com) whose mission is to “offer an agritourism experience for animal lovers by opening their doors and sharing the pleasures of raising alpacas in a pristine location.”

Domaine Ives Hill in Compton (https://domaineiveshill.com/en/) “specializes in the cultivation and processing of blackcurrant.”

Miellerie Lune de Miel in Stoke (http://www.miellerielunedemiel.com/english.php) “offers guided tours of the fascinating world of bees and honey”.

La Cabane du Pic Bois in Brigham (https://www.cabanedupicbois.com/en/) is a classic sugar shack that’s been operated by the Cardin-Pollender family for the past four generations.