The irresistible new story from the million-copy bestselling author of CHOCOLAT

‘Joanne Harris’s long-awaited prequel to her immensely successful novel Chocolat is a feast of the senses full of intrigue, magic, love and, of course, chocolate. I devoured it with as much relish and joy as I devoured the original. Delicious!’ SANTA MONTEFIORE

‘Vianne is every bit as vivid, magical and delicious as I hoped it would be and a fitting prequel for a story that has become, like one of Vianne’s chocolates, a much-loved favourite’ RUTH HOGAN

‘A charming tale of a restless young woman’s self-discovery’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

Secrets.

Chocolate.

A touch of magic…

On a warm July evening, Sylviane Rochas scatters her mother’s ashes in New York and lets the changing wind blow her to the French seaside town of Marseille.

For the first time in her life, Vianne holds the future in her own hands. Charming her way into a job as a waitress in a local bistrot, she knows that she is not here to stay – when her child is born in a few months, she must be gone.

As she discovers the joy of cooking, making recipes her own with the addition of bittersweet chocolate spices, she realises that it possesses its own magic in this town full of secrets.

Yet Vianne will never forget her mother’s warning: that there is danger in revealing the true desires of those around her – and she must flee these cobbled streets before it’s too late…

Million-copy bestselling author Joanne Harris returns to the world of Chocolat with the long-awaited story of Vianne, which begins six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie in the small French village of Lansquenet.

—-

Readers are captivated by Vianne!

‘Even if you don’t like chocolate, Vianne will find a way to make it irresistible’ READER REVIEW

‘Wonderfully created, truly remarkable!’ READER REVIEW

‘The character of Vianne is as delicious as her chocolate shop’ READER REVIEW

‘Makes you look for the everyday magic in your own life, and we could all use a little magic…’ READER REVIEW

‘There is something magical about Vianne!’ READER REVIEW

Author Biography

Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) is the author of twenty novels, three cookbooks and many short stories. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, was Chair of the Society of Authors between 2020 and 2024, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE by the Queen. She was born in Barnsley in Yorkshire and grew up above her grandparents’ sweet shop.