Passport Places for Book Lovers

Calling all book lovers, history buffs, and avid readers! Interested in Indigenous knowledge and traditions? What about thrillers and mysteries tied to historic places? Want to revisit some of the classics? Well, we have just the Passport Place and book for you. For lovers of classic novels, Canadian historical fiction, comics, and history, we’ve got you covered. Explore Canada’s historic places and some great books with these 7 Passport Places and book pairings.

Morrin Centre, Quebec City, QC

Located in historic Quebec City, the Morrin Centre has over the decades functioned as a jail, a university and, since the early 2000s, a leading English-language cultural centre in Quebec which includes their library collection of over 27,000 books. With one of the world’s most beautiful libraries, ominous jail cells, and preserved classrooms and labs, there are plenty of stories and histories to explore at the Morrin Centre!

We have paired this place with the award-winning book Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. In Quebec City, Chief Inspector Gamache is conducting research at the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec’s library when a body is discovered in the sub-basement. Gamache is tasked with solving the crime while revisiting a past case that has continued to haunt him.

Métis Crossing, Smoky Lake, AB

Métis Crossing aims to share the unique cultural and traditional heritage of the Métis people with visitors from Canada and beyond. Activities like storytelling, paddle excursions on the North Saskatchewan River, snowshoeing, hikes, and wildlife tours connect visitors with both nature and people, fostering cultural education and understanding. Visitors can even stay on-site in Sky Watching Domes or in the lodge to try and catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis!

We have paired this book with Braiding Sweetgrass by Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer. This bestselling book blends Indigenous and scientific knowledge to demonstrate how and what other living things, like strawberries and squash, can teach us.

Spadina Museum, Toronto, ON

Lush gardens, lavish furniture, and gorgeous decor tell the story of galas, garden parties, sickness, war, and a society transformed. Once the home of the Austin family, this mansion provides a glimpse into the life of Torontonians from 1900 to the 1930s, when new technologies like gas lighting, central heating, electricity, and the telephone were changing the way people interacted with their homes and the world around them.

We have paired this book with The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a novel full of 1920s wealth and extravagance! Another classic that you may have already read in school (but is certainly worth rereading!), the novel follows Nick Carraway who finds himself drawn into the lifestyle of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby, who is determined to win over Daisy Buchanan.

Canadian Energy Museum: Home of Leduc #1, Leduc County, AB

 The Canadian Energy Museum sits on the site that Leduc no. 1 struck oil in February 1947, dramatically transforming the Albertan economy as oil and gas became the province’s primary industry. The discovery allowed Canada to become self-sufficient within a decade, and a major exporter of oil. The Canadian Energy Museum has hands-on education and exhibitions about Alberta’s first oil discovery, fossil fuels, and alternative energy.

We have paired this book with Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, an autobiographical comic by cartoonist Kate Beaton. Ducks recounts Beaton’s experience moving from Atlantic Canada to the Alberta oil sands in order to pay off her student loans and recounts the people she meets and works with, her experience as a woman working in a male-dominated field, along with her hardships and successes. It has even been listed as one of Barack Obama’s favourite books of 2022.

The Canadian Energy Museum is currently closed for public walk-ups. Tours are still available and can be booked 1 week in advance on the museum’s website.

https://www.canadianenergymuseum.ca/

Leacock Museum National Historic Site, Orillia, ON

The summer home of humorist Stephen Butler Leacock is home to the world’s largest archival holding of Leacock manuscripts, covering the period from 1869 to 1944. Leacock, who was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world from 1915 to 1925, was known for light humour and criticism of people’s follies. His stories were published first in magazines across Canada and the United States, and later in novel form.

We have paired this place with Leacock’s own work, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. This sequence of stories is considered a classic of Canadian humorous literature. Drawn from his experiences in Orillia, and inspired by gossip from the local barber, Sunshine Sketches consists of three stories taking place in the small fictional town of Mariposa.

Doukhobor Dugout House, Blaine Lake, SK

In 1899, Doukhobors, a group of Russians who are known for their pacifism, immigrated to the Blaine Lake area of Saskatchewan and other regions in the Canadian West. To adapt to the harshness of the Canadian climate, they constructed dugout houses by digging into the North Saskatchewan River ravine – the same style of house as in the Cascaus. The Doukhobor Dugout House tells the story of Doukhobor culture in the Canadian prairies.

We’ve paired this book with Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy. His close relationship with the Doukhobors and support for their cause led to him bringing their persecution in Russia to the attention of the international community, going on to aid them in migrating to Canada. The proceeds from Resurrection, which was Tolstoy’s final long novel published in his lifetime, went toward the Doukhobor cause. Part of the Doukhobor Dugout House site is named for Tolstoy.

Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, BC

The massive, bonanza castle of Craigdarroch Castle was built in the 19^th century for the Scottish coal barron Robert Dunsmuir and his spouse. However, when Dunsmuor died before the castle was completed, the responsibility fell to his sons. Over the years, the castle has been a private residence, a college, a military hospital and a music conservatory before being transformed into a historic house museum.

We have paired this book with Greenwood by Michael Christie. This novel, a Canada Reads selection and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, follows generations of the Greenwood family spanning from the near future where trees are a scarce resource and Greenwood Island in British Columbia is one of the few places the rich and wealthy can be among them back to the late 19^th century when two brothers become tangled up in a web of crime that will follow them for decades. With lush forests, windswept prairies, rattling trains, and a massive mansion as a setting, the novel takes readers across the country from St. Johns to Victoria as we follow this family as they amass (and perhaps even lose) their wealth.

 

The Places for Book Lovers are part of the Trust’s Passport Places program, a National Trust membership benefit that provides free access to 100 historic places in Canada, as well as 1000+ National Trust places abroad. Become a member today!