Romance novel set in France, California and Poland (“love is seldom what you expect”)
- Book: Scent of Triumph
- Location: Grasse, Paris
- Author: Jan Moran
“Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume”
An epic romance novel set in the early years of World War II. It is an expansive book that evolves from war torn France and Poland, across to California.
Danielle Bretancourt, a trained perfumer, is a heroine carved from the Angelina Jolie mold, she is gorgeous, resourceful, capable, creative and hugely talented. But nevertheless has her fair share of trauma along the way. At the beginning she is married to Max, she’s pregnant and they have left their son Nicky with Grandmother Sofia, in Poland – this country, of course, soon comes under siege and the two have to flee for their lives, especially as they have Jewish heritage.
One of the themes of the book is Danielle’s search for her son. Her life, whilst she searches, take her from Grasse to London and over to the West Coast of America where she eventually settles. From acute poverty, where she lives with her own mother Marie and her tiny daughter, she sets about creating her own perfumes and moves into fashion. Of course there is romance along the way, but it is coupled with adventure, trauma and poignant moments of reflection.
Each chapter opens with Danielle Bretancourt’s thoughts on perfume and smell, and her musings on the nature of the ingredients. The Moroccan rose is different to Bulgaria’s damascene rose, or that it takes 800,000 rose blossoms to make 1 Kilo of absolute concentrate. Jasmine, after whom Danielle’s little daughter is named, is the empress of the perfume palette.
It is the blend of stories and themes that make this such an enjoyable read, full of life’s adventures and romance. It is fabulous to learn, via fiction, little insights into the art of perfumery. And I leave you with words from the book: ”A perfume is a symphony, the sum of the parts, where the whole is far greater than the individual“…
The review first appeared on our blog where we also chat to the author.
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