Monique de Vré Books

After a years long absence, chocolatier Vianne Rocher returns to the village of Lansquenet in south-west France, to find that newcomers from North Africa have brought big changes to the community, and a minaret is now situated next to the church of Saint-Jerome, calling people to prayer.

Sam is nog maar kort moeder terwijl ze haar eigen moeder Iris onlangs heeft verloren. Hoewel ze zich geen leven meer kan voorstellen zonder haar dochtertje Ella, blijft ze ook twijfelen over haar rol als moeder. En ze mist Iris meer dan ooit. Als ze op een dag een doos met Iris' spullen krijgt toegestuurd, ontdekt ze brieven en een foto van Violet, een meisje dat in 1900 op elfjarige leeftijd in haar eentje van New York naar het Middenwesten reisde.

Try me...Test me...Taste me. When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as instruments of murder. Suddenly Vianne's shop-cum-cafe means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, dreams to be tested. But Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a 'Church not Chocolate' battle. As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair? For the first time here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance, emerging as a moral issue, as an agent of transformation - as well as a pleasure bordering on obsession. Rich, clever and mischievous, this is a triumphant read.

ay Mackintosh koopt in een opwelling een vervallen chateau in het Franse dorpje Lansquenet. Met weinig meer dan een paar flessen vruchtenwijn vertrekt hij uit Londen. Het zijn de ongewone eigenschappen van deze wijn die hem helpen een plekje te veroveren in de harten van de dorpsgenoten, in het bijzonder dat van de mysterieuze Marise...

At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.

'Who died?' I said. 'Or is it a secret?''My mother, Vianne Rocher.'Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Yanne and her daughters, Rosette and Annie, live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop.Nothing unusual marks them out; no red sachets hang by the door.The wind has stopped - at least for a while.Then into their lives blows Zozie de l'Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes, and everything begins to change....But this new friendship is not what it seems.Ruthless, devious and seductive, Zozie de l'Alba has plans of her own - plans that will shake their world to pieces.And with everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice; to flee, as she has done so many times before, or to confront her most dangerous enemy.....Herself.

Methode om in het verleden opgedane pijnlijke ervaringen te verwerken en te integreren.

Deep in Tehran's Evin Prison, Azar gives birth to a baby girl. Corridors away, Amir is making a bracelet out of date stones. He hopes that one day his daughter will hold it in her hands. As a camera shutter closes, three children are fixed in time. These children cannot remember their mothers' faces. But their mothers will treasure the photos, daring to imagine the life that goes on beyond prison walls. Revolution has torn the future from the past. But these children, the children of the jacaranda tree, will have the chance to grow. They will go into exile, they will find love and they will return home to Iran. But they will also have to confront the terrible legacies passed from one generation to the next when the cold boot of history stamps on individual lives. Children of the Jacaranda Tree is a novel about the ghosts of revolution. It is a novel about forging the future when your past is too painful to remember. It is a novel that you will never forget.

Engeland, eind achttiende eeuw. De staljongen Tom Page is er getuige van hoe twee zeezieke jonge olifanten na een lange zeereis op de kade van Bristol worden gehesen. Zijn eigen baas koopt deze twee grijze bulten voor een habbekrats, om vervolgens hem, Tom Page, te benoemen tot olifantenoppasser. Veel kennis van deze exotische dieren was er niet in deze tijd waarin de eerste ‘natural histories’ geschreven werden, waarbij enige fantasie niet werd geschuwd. Maar Tom leert snel, hij kan niet anders. En met zijn kennis groeit ook zijn liefde voor deze intelligente kolossen. Een liefde die hem isoleert en die niet gedeeld wordt door zijn dierbaren, die hem in conflict brengt met degenen die hij geacht wordt te gehoorzamen, een liefde die hem dwingt om moeilijke keuzes te maken…

When Grosjean s estranged daughter Mado returns to Le Devin, a tiny island caught like a crab in the shallow seas of northern France, she brings with her an air of energy and change that ruffles the crusty local fisherman. Divided squarely into two warrin