How the ongoing pandemic inspired Louise Penny's latest mystery novel The Madness of Crowds
'Ideas, particularly unpleasant ones, are like a virus'
Louise Penny is the author of the bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. As the author of mysteries such as A Better Man, Still Life, Glass Houses and All the Devils Are Here, the Canadian novelist and former CBC broadcaster has created a bestselling series of books that fans can't seem to get enough of.
Penny had a huge year in 2021: she won the 2020 Agatha Award for best contemporary novel for All the Devils Are Here; she collaborated with American politician and former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton on the political thriller called State of Terror; and The Madness of Crowds, the 17th and latest book in the Armand Gamache series, was published.
Both State of Terror and The Madness of Crowds were among the bestselling Canadian books for 2021.
In The Madness of Crowds, the Chief Inspector's post-pandemic family holiday is interrupted by a simple request. He's asked to provide security for a visiting Professor of Statistics who will be giving a lecture at a nearby university. Before long, the professor's views start seeping into conversations and it becomes nearly impossible to tell truth, reality and delusion apart.
Penny spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing The Madness of Crowds.
A post-pandemic world
"I started writing The Madness of Crowds at the very beginning of the pandemic. I was in New York City at the time.
"Do you remember how quickly everything crumbled? It closed down within days. I managed to get back across the border into Quebec — and then I was quarantining for two weeks.
"I am genetically engineered for quarantine; I love it! I'm very much an introvert. I thought I would start writing the book. Initially, there was no way I was going to write about the pandemic. And in fact, I got two-thirds of the way through the book without mentioning the pandemic.
So there was an absolute parallel between a professor who comes up with an idea that has shot like wildfire through the population, and the pandemic.
"Frankly, the last thing I wanted to write about was the pandemic. I thought the last thing anyone's going to want to read about, having experienced it, is the pandemic. But then it suddenly struck me: ideas, particularly unpleasant ones, are like a virus. They move from person to person and then take on a life of their own.
"So there was an absolute parallel between a professor who comes up with an idea that has shot like wildfire through the population, and the pandemic."
Panic struck
"The book title comes from a book that was written in 1841: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay. I'd been interested in this nonfiction book for a long time. It blows my mind that this book would still be pertinent today.
"Each chapter takes a look at some lunacy that gripped the population — the South Sea Bubble, 'Tulip mania,' witchcraft hunts — all situations and events where normally rational and well-balanced people lost their minds. It's a study in psychology — how can that not be fascinating, particularly given what I do? The crowd psychology is fascinating — and also terrifying in how it can get out of control.
"That's what Gamache is looking at. Strangely enough, as the head of homicide, he's been asked to provide security at an event where a Canadian professor is giving a lecture about statistics. Once he starts researching this professor, Gamache begins to see the danger of not only the event — and trying to have it not turn into a riot — but the danger of her ideas.
The crowd psychology is fascinating — and also terrifying in how it can get out of control.
"It really challenges his belief in freedom and in freedom of speech; where does freedom lie and where is that sweet spot between? It's something that democracies struggle with all the time — and what we're struggling with now, during the pandemic."
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
