Since the publication of Chocolat in 1999 I have enjoyed reading the latest novel by Joanne Harris set in France with Vianne Rocher as the main character (see my blogs on Peaches and chocolate and The Strawberry Thief). I therefore decided to savour the latest in the series, Vianne, on the way to and from Paris for the weekend at the end of June.

This novel is a prequel to Chocolat, setting out to explain Vianne’s backstory, as she arrives pregnant and alone in Marseille after the death of her mother, fighting an inner battle between what her mother has taught her – never rely on others, always move on when anyone gets too close – and the desire to settle, help others and put down roots.

As always with Vianne, life revolves around food, with taste working its magic and mending broken hearts. When she settles in a small cafe and one-by-one learns the recipes from the proprietor’s dead wife, she begins to bring him out of his grief and back to life, as she becomes the heart and soul of the cafe. The regulars enjoy the dishes she concocts, whilst on the side she is learning all about how to make chocolate from some newfound friends, nicely setting up the skills she employs some years later in Chocolat. As her baby grows inside her, she goes on a quest to find a lost child and begins to discover her own past and what was behind her mother always being on the run.

This was a very pleasant return to a much-loved world and the perfect way to while-away train journeys through the French countryside.