Author Joanne Harris is not Vianne, her most famous character, and vice versa. Obvious as that may seem, readers often get the wrong idea: “She’s not me, and people have sometimes been very disappointed to find that I’m not her.” That’s the problem with writing such a beloved fictional creation – people desperately want the enchanting protagonist of Harris’s phenomenally popular bestseller Chocolat, and its three sequels (The Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur le Curé and The Strawberry Thief), to be somehow real.
The first book was adapted, back in 2000, into a sumptuous film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, which in turn sparked further Vianne fever; following the movie’s release, Chocolat the novel sold more than a million copies. Now, 25 years after she first walked onto the page, the French heroine afflicted with eternal wanderlust, who weaves magic into her confectionery, is back. This time, we’re getting her origin story in a prequel, titled Vianne.
