The Perfume Garden

An old house crumbles under the sun in Valencia, it’s once lush garden, overgrown and forgotten since 1936. 70 years later Emma Temple, London’s premiere perfumer enters the house. Reeling from the death of her mother and the end of a relationship that has left her pregnant, Emma puts her heart into fixing up the old house that her mother bought a year before her death. To her, the home is a second chance, but to her grandmother, the house is a reminder of the time she spent there as a nurse during the Spanish civil war. As Emma cleans up the house, she will uncover family secrets buried for over half a century

Review The juxtaposition of stories during the Spanish civil war and England and Spain in the aftermath of 9/11, 2001, sets the stage for this excellent read.   Some of the background characters, like photographers Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, are real, with fictionalized  stories intertwined with the story of a family and its heartaches and successes.  The main character, Emma, is both appealing and realistic in her need to start over and refresh her ideas of her future as a perfumer.  As in some other works of fiction, the historical truths of the atrocities at the end of the civil war, by Franco's supporters, is woven into the story and brings awareness to a serious, sad chapter in history.  I love the relationship between Emma and her grandmother, Freya, and her great Uncle, Charles.  Highly recommended.

I picked this up thinking I was in for some light, frothy, escapist reading.  I was happily surprised to find that not only was it a great escape, but it also provided some enlightening background on the Spanish Civil War.   It’s much more than just a “chick lit” book.

My review was posted on Goodreads.

I love multi generational stories that have granddaughters and grandmothers as close friends. This book starts with Freda and her brother Charles going to Spain to fight in the Spanish civil war, 1936. Neither have left England since returning from the war. Freda's granddaughter Emma goes to Spain after the death of her mother to see the house she has inherited. This trip brings out terrible memories for Freda and Charles and secrets they thought were long buried. Emma decides to stay and develop some new natural perfumes. A great story with alternating narrators who give a lot of history about Spain and the perfume industry. An enjoyable read.

This book drew me in and seduced me.  The premise, timeline, and settings were sublime.  I loved the weaving of the storyline.  Excellent.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of this book.
I found this to be a riveting read from start to finish. I enjoy books that link two time periods together and the past and present of this story flowed together well. I also enjoyed learning more about the Spanish Civil War, which is a time period of history that I wasn't too familiar with.
Although I found the actions of some of the characters a little perplexing and selfish, especially the revelation of what Charles had done to Freya (I won't spoil here).
Overall a good story and read.

Fascinating story. Loved the characters.