Bruno Chief of Police in the Dordogne

15 January 2023

Bruno, Chief of Police in the Dordogne

Reading a book is a great source of comfort and escapism. It also teaches us new things, help us learn about other cultures, and give us a better understanding of the world around us.

So, when we decided to move to the Dordogne, we started reading the Bruno books, to learn more about the place we were moving to. Bruno (Benoît Courrèges), is like Wallander, Montalbano, Poirot, Cadfael, Holmes and Lupin, and solves crimes but he's the only one who solves the mysteries and crimes in our beautiful Dordogne. The novels are set in the fictional town of St. Denis which is modelled on Le Bugue on the river Vézère, where Scottish journalist and writer of the Bruno books Martin Walker, has a property.

Bruno is a policeman and former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of French country life. He has a gun but never wears it and he has a personal preference to avoid having to arrest people.

Waterstone's Carol Dixon Smith wrote 'A word of warning, this story is awash with food so be prepared, shop for wine, baguettes, pâté and such like…as this is also a gastronomic delight!’. Even for us as vegetarians, it’s impossible to read a Bruno novel without getting hungry and thirsty. Martin Walker also wrote cookery books like ‘Bruno’s Cookbook’ and ‘Recipes and Traditions from a French Country Kitchen’ which he wrote with his wife Julia Watson.

Recently, one of our German guests gave us a German edition of his Cookbook called ‘Brunos Kochbuch’ as a present, and were pleasantly surprised by the number of vegetarian options in it.

Rosamunde Pilcher’s novels inspires thousands of tourists to Cornwall every year and the same happens to Sicily with its Inspector Montalbano but we’re sure you’ll be inspired by reading the Bruno books to come to visit our Gîte Loups d'Or in this beautiful part of France, the Dordogne, the Périgord!

We hope seeing you here in Lusignac!

Pimm + Marcel

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Most of our blogs are written to give you more information about the Dordogne, Périgord, where we have Gîte Loups d'Or, our 4-star, luxury, self-catering holiday home. We write about subjects we think are interesting for you to know and to give you inspiration to explore this beautiful part of France yourself. If you have any questions or if you want more information, please feel free to contact us.

Dordogne

Bruno, Chief of Police in the Dordogne