The Perfume Collector

March 18, 2013
Tessaro (Innocence) dazzles the senses in this novel about a reluctant British socialite who receives a mysterious inheritance from an unknown Frenchwoman in 1950s Europe. Tessaro’s flashback-layered narrative concerns the mildly clichéd Grace Munroe, a London housewife yearning for a sense of purpose, and Eva d’Orsey, an older Frenchwoman “living between memory and regret.” After Eva dies, Grace is surprised to receive a letter naming her as chief beneficiary. Upon arriving in Paris she meets Edouard Tissot, Eva’s lawyer and, predictably, a potential love interest. Searching for her connection to Eva, Grace discovers a derelict perfume shop staffed by Russian-born master perfumer Madame Zed, who weaves a preachy morality tale about the downfall of young orphaned Eva in New York City a quarter-century before. As Eva’s history surfaces, Grace finds the value in her inheritance and the price Eva paid to bestow it. Predictably, Tessaro cycles between narratives, but brings the cities to life, from the “dreamy, shifting blues and dusky greens” of a London “Turner watercolour” morning to the “glowing softness” of Paris. Nuanced observations soften the blow of the contrived banter, familiar form, and one particularly overindulgent shopping-day passage. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM.

April 15, 2013

Englishwoman Grace Monroe travels to Paris in search of answers as well as escape from her unhappy marriage after receiving a bequest from the mysterious Eva d'Orsey, a woman she has never heard of. The novel's chapters alternate between Grace's Paris sojourn in 1955 and Eva's story, which begins with a job in a New York City hotel in 1927, at the age of 14. Tessaro (The Debutante) has written an entertaining novel with two protagonists readers will care about, and if the answer to why Eva has left her fortune to Grace is fairly obvious early on, it doesn't matter. VERDICT A compelling plot in a truly magical Parisian setting, fascinating information about the way perfume is made, and great secondary characters make this a charming read. Tessaro does a marvelous job of conveying the atmosphere of a fairytale trip to 1950s Paris by a woman who finds herself, and romance, in the City of Light. Readers of the works of Emily Giffin and Laura Florand will enjoy.--Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2013
The story of a woman who receives an unexpected inheritance, from Pennsylvania-based author Tessaro (Innocence, 2005, etc.). Grace Munroe, a young woman in London in 1955, receives a letter from Paris informing her that a woman she has never heard of has just died and left her an apartment and an investment portfolio. Believing it must be a mistake, she flies to Paris to investigate this strange inheritance. The story then moves back in time and across the ocean to New York in the 1920s, and they are definitely roaring. Moving from continent to continent and decade to decade, the author reveals the sometimes-tragic, sometimes-exhilarating life journey of Eva D'Orsey. A brilliantly gifted orphan, Eva is catapulted by circumstances into womanhood at a young age. Her journey involves following two men she met while working with the housekeeping staff of a high-end New York hotel. One of these men is himself an orphan and the protege of an older Russian woman, Madame Zed, who teaches him the art and science of creating perfumes. Andre opens a perfume store in Paris while Eva is in Monte Carlo, counting cards for the rebellious son of an aristocratic English family. Before long, Eva joins Andre at the perfumery in Paris, but then the Nazis take over, and Andre, a Jew, is carted off to a concentration camp despite Eva's attempt to save him. Eva's story, told from her perspective, is interspersed with her story as told by Madame Zed to Grace Munroe, who has followed a clue to the old perfume shop. A colorful, stimulating journey through time.

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April 15, 2013
Grace Monroe, a newlywed raised in the studious world of Oxford and bland English food, is completely uncomfortable with the glamorous parties and socializing her new life demands. When a mysterious French benefactor leaves Grace a surprising sum in her will, she jumps at the chance to leave her overbearing husband and London's glittering social scene behind. What she finds in Paris, however, changes everything she knew about her past and has the power to change everything about her future. Tessaro combines Grace's story with that of Eva d'Orsey, muse to one of Paris' most famous perfumers and possessor of quite a few unusual talents herself. Sliding seamlessly between the 1950s and the 1920s, Tessaro depicts New York, Paris, London, and Monte Carlo with lush, descriptive imagery and admirable authenticity. Grace is a beguiling heroine, uneasy in her current situation yet hesitant to fully uncover the connections she and Eva share. Fans of Anita Shreve and Maeve Binchy will find The Perfume Collector a bewitching, compelling novel, full of dark desires, long-buried secrets, revisited memories, and new opportunities.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)