Emma Temple is grieving, alone, and pregnant. Her beloved mother passed away from a devastating illness, and her forever love, Joe, killed in the Twin Towers disaster. When Emma finds a black lacquer box filled with letters from her mother, she also finds a key to a house bequeathed to her. The perfume business she and her mother began in London has been sold and Emma wants to start her life over somewhere new. Valencia, Spain, called the Spanish Eden, could be the place. Emma travels to the lovely hills of Valencia, Spain. The Villa La Del Valle stands behind iron gates high on a hill. It has a bell tower with a moorish arch and has been closed up for many decades. The chipped ceramic sign reads: VILLA LA DEL VALLE. As the gates close behind her, Emma stands in a large untended walled garden. She sees a grove of orange trees, bougainvillea covers the walls, she smiles and says, "it's beautiful. Thanks, mum." Her mission begins. Restore this villa to its once beauty, read the letters written to her from her mother, await the birth of her child and in time, find that perfect perfume.
In 1936, we meet Freya, a nurse in Spain fighting Fascism and caring for the wounded. Alongside is her brother, Charles, a photographer/journalist who wants to show the world the truth about the horrors raging in Civil War there. Rosa and Macu, strong women, with brave stories to tell and a cast of characters all add to a gripping tale that is interwoven with Emma's story.
Kate Lord Brown does a superlative job in her research of the tragic Spanish Civil War, the countless deaths that occurred in that era. It divided the country and divided families. Spain is still trying to forget the horrific atrosities, and continues to have "a pact of silence" surrounding that timeframe in its history.
The debut novel from Ms. Brown, THE PERFUME GARDEN tells a touching story. While some of her characters will win your heart you will be cheering for the defeat of others. This is a historical fiction that flips from past to present, 1936 - 2001. It touches on strong women who raised strong women. The art of perfume is a delight to me as was the sweet romance of handsome and dashing, Luca, and Emma. Long hidden secrets, family feuds, Emma finds many answers as she fights to find her new life, love and family.
THE PERFUME GARDEN is a book I found impossible to put down and re-read many pages. My favorite: "Close your eyes. She placed her scarf from around her neck and covered Luca's nose and lips. Breathe. Luca hears clinks from glass bottles and then Emma takes his hand and drops a little of her mix on the inside of his wrist and massages it." A special fragrance created for Luca by Emma. What could be more romantic? Starting with the delightful cover, this is a read that will carry you away and perhaps catch a scent from the flowers in THE PERFUME GARDEN. I loved it.
An acclaimed international bestseller, The Perfume Garden
is a sensuously written story of lost love, family
secretsβand the art of creating a perfect scent.
High in the hills of Valencia, a forgotten house guards its
secrets. Untouched since Franco's forces tore through Spain
in 1936, the whitewashed walls have crumbled, and the
garden, laden with orange blossom, grows wild. Emma Temple
is the first to unlock its doors in seventy years. Emma is
London's leading perfumier, but her blessed life has taken a
difficult turn. Her free-spirited mother, Liberty, who
taught her the art of fragrance making, has just passed
away. At the same time, she broke up with her long-time
lover and business partner, Joe, whose baby she happens to
be carrying.
While Joe is in New York trying to sell his majority share
in their company, Emma, guided by a series of letters and a
key bequeathed to her in Liberty's will, decides to leave
her job and travel to Valencia, where she will give birth in
the house her mother mysteriously purchased just before her
death. The villa is a perfect retreat: redolent with the
exotic scents of orange blossom and neroli, dappled with
light and with the rich colors of a forgotten time. Emma
makes it her mission to restore the place to its former
glory. But for her aging grandmother, Freya, a British nurse
who stayed in Valencia during Spain's devastating civil war,
Emma's new home evokes memories of a terrible secret, a part
of her family's past that until now has managed to stay
hidden. With two beautifully interwoven narratives and a
lush, atmospheric setting, Kate Lord Brown's The Perfume
Garden is a dramatic, emotional debut that readers won't
soon forget.
No excerpt available.
© 2003-2026