It seems that so many books these days are part of a series that I am almost disinclined to try to catch up. The latest book from M.J. Rose, the author of “The Book of Lost Fragrances”, is called “Seduction, A Novel of Suspense”, and features the same characters found in her previous novel. Although “The Book of Lost Fragrances” is on my list, I haven’t read it yet, so was worried about reading the next book in the series. My fears were unfounded. Although some references are made to the previous book, “Seduction” works well as a stand-alone work, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Victor Hugo in Exile on Jersey

The storyline of “Seduction” follows mythologist Jac L’Etoile as she makes a journey to the island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, in search of Druid artifacts and stories. She is reunited with Theo Gaspard, a man she had strong ties with as a troubled teen, and who thinks he may have found clues to mysteries of the past. Running through the book is a fictionalized account of the writer Victor Hugo, who became obsessed with spirits and séances after the death of one of his daughters. Weaving historically documented facts with invented characters, the story of a despairing man having a battle of wits with a spirit known as The Shadow of the Sepulcher is spooky and compelling. Another thread running through this intricately woven plot takes place amongst the Celts of 56 BC, who lived on Jersey and left behind mystical, magical traces of their lives.

Author M.J. Rose

How does perfume play a part? Jac’s family has a long history in perfumery, and runs the House of L’Etoile in Paris. Jac and her brother Robbie had a small perfume organ to play with as children. Jac is extremely sensitive to smells and can pick the notes out of a person’s perfume easily. A major aspect of the book is how aromas and Jac’s reaction to them lead her down a path of past lives and sense memory. The book is loaded with voluptuous descriptions of scents. Ms. Rose gave us an exclusive inside view of what it is to create a “fragrance on paper”:

“My newest novel is about many things: Victor Hugo and the secret séances he attended, Druid ruins, grief, ghosts, reincarnation and the lengths we go to for love.

 

And it’s very much about scent. An imaginary, magical scent.

How do you create a perfume from ingredients that you don’t have access to and can’t smell?

How do you mix up an elixir with words on the page and make it so real you could pick it out if someone walked passed you wearing it.

My main character, Jac L’Etoile, comes from a long line of perfumers. Her family’s business dates back to before the French revolution. She’s been trained to be a perfumer, but has become a mythologist instead. And yet she thinks in scent… loves it… and is drawn into the world of perfume again and again.

 

Below is a description of the magical fragrance I imagined Jac L’Etoile smells in SEDUCTION.

 

But there was something else Jac smelled. A rich and spicy perfume that combined roses, ylang ylang and oak moss. Trapped in the pages for how many years, a fine French perfume was escaping.

 

It was the kind of scent she had grown up with. Nothing like most modern mass-produced fragrances, but beautifully articulated and rounded. She sniffed at it. There was one note that she couldn’t quite figure out, and that note was similar to the mysterious note in Ash’s cologne.

 

Was this another of Fantine’s scents? Was the amber note her signature? The way vanilla was Jean Guerlain’s? The way tuberose was her grandfather’s?

 

To create this fragrance I spent hours with my stash of samples of long lost fragrances. I have collected over three dozen of these tiny vials and keep them in the dark, trying to preserve the last drops of perfumes that haven’t been made in decades often with ingredients no longer in use.

 

I treasure them and am careful not to visit them too often least they evaporate too fast. Each one is a dream, evocative of a time and place that no longer exists. Three helped me create the perfume I call FANTINE’S SCENT, in SEDUCTON.

 

My first inspiration was Cherigan’s FLEURS DE TABAC, launched at the height of the Art Deco period in 1929.

FLEURS DE TABAC has a brisk citrus opening over a dry, smoky vetiver heart which is imbued with jasmine blooms and tobacco leaf. The rich amber/vanilla base and sensual muskiness reveals itself and trails off into the drydown.

And my second inspiration was Guerlain’s COQUE D'OR. This is one of my favorite scents – if not my favorite. An undeniably beautiful leather chypre created in 1937 by Jacques Guerlain. Soft florals mix with a leather accord, which suggest paper-thin hand-made gloves of extraordinary quality. And under is a classic Guerlain chypre base of sandalwood, amber and oakmoss.

And the third scent I used was Houbigant’s LE PARFUM IDÉAL. First because it was introduced during the Belle Epoch at the 1900 World’s Fair – not too much after Victor Hugo’s tale in my novel takes place. LE PARFUM IDÉAL married natural and synthetic components which included rose, ylang ylang, carnation, coumarin, jasmine, cloves, vanilla and ambergris. The scent was presented in apothecary-style Baccarat flacons which were housed in boxes with patterned motifs inspired by oriental carpets.”

Faldouet Dolmen, Jersey

You can see that this novel is perfect for perfumistas to read, as well as anyone who enjoys a good ghost story. I enjoyed the moody, tormented characters, the threatening sea and dank caves, the mystery surrounding the story. I was especially intrigued by the Victor Hugo chapters, as I had not known he became so immersed in spiritualism. Since the novel revolves around reincarnation and past life experiences, that is another audience this book will appeal to. I find it fascinating, as I have had some personal experience in that arena.

Of course, now I will definitely read “The Book of Lost Fragrances”, and will look forward to the further adventures of Jac and Robbie L’Etoile. “The Book of Lost Fragrances” and “Seduction, A Novel of Suspense” are available on Amazon.com. My copy of “Seduction” was provided to me by Ms. Rose’s publicist.

We have a copy for one lucky U.S. reader. Leave a comment about your favorite vintage perfume and a historical character who may have worn it or a fragrance from the past you love. Draw ends on May 18, 2013.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

–Tama Blough, Senior Editor