Chocolat (novel)

Chocolat is a 1999 novel by Joanne Harris. It tells the story of Vianne Rocher, a young single mother, who arrives in the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes at the beginning of Lent with her six-year-old daughter, Anouk. Vianne has arrived to open a chocolaterie—La Céleste Praline—which is on the square opposite the church. During the traditional season of fasting and self-denial she gently changes the lives of the villagers who visit her with a combination of sympathy, subversion and a little magic.

This scandalises Francis Reynaud, the village priest, and his supporters. As tensions run high, the community is increasingly divided. As Easter approaches the ritual of the Church is pitted against the indulgence of chocolate, and Father Reynaud and Vianne Rocher face an inevitable showdown.

Harris has indicated that several of the characters were influenced by individuals in her life: Her son forms the basis for the young Anouk, including his imaginary rabbit, Pantoufle. Harris' strong-willed and independent great-grandmother influenced her portrayal of both Vianne and the elderly Armande.

The Lollipop Shoes, the first sequel, was published in the United Kingdom in 2007 (released in 2008 as The Girl with No Shadow in the US) and in 2012, the second sequel was published, entitled Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. (Peaches for Father Francis in the US), followed by the third installment, The Strawberry Thief, in 2019.