Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Return to the world of the multi-million-copy bestselling Chocolat….
The Strawberry Thief
What you need to know before your trail
Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her ‘special’ child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend.
But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray.
The arrival of Narcisse’s relatives, the departure of an old friend and the opening of a mysterious new shop in the place of the florist’s across the square – one that mirrors the chocolaterie, and has a strange appeal of its own – all seem to herald some kind of change: a confrontation, a turbulence – even, perhaps, a murder…
Travel Guide
Travel back to rural France with the aroma of Chocolat in the air!
Set in fictional Lansquenet-Sous-Tannes but inspired by Nerac in Aquitaine. The village is clearly situated in the south of France in the book, close to Toulouse and that quiet and rural region that only the south of France provides. (especially west to the city of Toulouse) The fun is to find the chocolate shops and do a trail through them all!
Vianne Rocher is back! And she’s in that wonderful French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, living above the shop with her sixteen year old daughter, Rosette. It’s a fictional village but one which seems very real! The aroma of chocolate and strawberries is a constant theme and taste/smell sensation running through the novel and it’s a pleasure to be back!
Her older daughter, Anouk, is in Paris with her boyfriend, Rosette’s father, Roux, is in his barge moored on the Tannes, but apart from that, things and people are largely the same. Still a village of gossip and not a few secrets!
The name of the character Vianne is said to have been inspired by a town within the Lavardac commune and the town of Lavardac where the fictional Lansquenet is probably inspired by. The village could also be inspired by Nérac, on the river Baïse, as a little French birdie tells us that Joanne Harris spent some of her childhood holidays here and it’s also very close to a tiny village called Vianne. Could these be clues?
There is a artisanale chocolate shop here called La Cigale! and photos on the site of Joanne Harris
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Strawberry Thief
Destination: “Lansquenet-sous-Tannes” South of France, Author/guide: Joanne Harris Departure Time: 2000s
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