More than 100 years ago, Benicia served as the inspiration for some of Jack London’s writings, including the autobiographical novel “John Barleycorn,” where the city was mentioned by name.
Until now, that had been the extent of Benicia’s presence in widely published literature. However, the city was recently referenced by name in Craig Johnson’s “The Highwayman,” the latest entry in the author’s “Longmire” series.
The series centers around Walt Longmire, a Wyoming sheriff who has a talent for discovering the truth behind crimes committed within his county while still reeling from the loss of his wife Martha. The “Longmire” series has produced 17 books so far and even inspired a hit TV series which ran for three seasons on A&E and was later picked up by Netflix where it will run for a fifth season.
Johnson gave a presentation at the Benicia Public Library back in January, which librarian Fran Martinez Coyne said was very well-received.
“It was beyond any expectations we could have had,” she said. “We almost had 180 people there.”
At the event, Johnson screened an episode of “Longmire” and then took questions from the audience. Bookshop Benicia even came by to sell copies of his books.
“We had people who had read the books but not known about the ‘Longmire’ series on Netflix, and we had people who knew about the series but not the books,” Coyne said. “I think we opened both of their eyes on the next possibilities for them.”
“The Highwayman,” Johnson’s latest, was released on May 17 and centers around a Wyoming highway patrol officer who starts receiving radio assistance calls from Bobby Womack, a patrolman who had died 50 years earlier, prompting Longmire to investigate. Benicia is referenced on Page 48 as being the hometown of a “hitchhiker, hippie kid” who is picked up by a state trooper and dropped off at his destination. Coyne said she would not be surprised if the visit inspired him to namecheck the city.
“I felt like he really felt connected to the community,” she said. “He took time to talk to whoever wanted to talk to him afterwards.”
“It really was quite a pleasant shock to have Benicia honored in that way,” she added.
“The Highwayman” is currently on sale at many bookstore locations. Those wishing to shop local can pick it up at Bookshop Benicia, located at 636 First St., or order the book online at BookshopBenicia.com.
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I read two of the ‘Longmire’ books two or three years ago and watched the TV show as well. The books were good and the TV show did a fair job in it’s portrayal. One interesting aspect of the show is it’s portrayal of life on the ‘Res’ for modern day Native’s, which is something we rarely see. It is a modern tragedy in many ways: high unemployment, high rates of drug addiction and alcoholism, inner tribal favoritism, extreme poverty for some and uneven distribution of casino/resort revenues.