An erotic masterpiece of twentieth century fiction - a tale of sensual obsession and bloodlust in eighteenth century Paris 'An astonishing tour de force both in concept and execution' Guardian In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, and if his name has been forgotten today. It is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, wickedness, but because his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to a domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent . . . 'A fantastic tale of murder and twisted eroticism controlled by a disgusted loathing of humanity . .. Clever, stylish, absorbing and well worth reading' Literary Review 'A meditation on the nature of death, desire and decay . . . A remarkable début' Peter Ackroyd, The New York Times Book Review 'Unlike anything else one has read. A phenomenon . . . [It] will remain unique in contemporary literature' Figaro 'An ingenious and totally absorbing fantasy' Daily Telegraph 'Witty, stylish and ferociously absorbing' Observer

This is the story of a genius and a fraud. For more than half a century, Olivier Creed, heir to a French fashion empire but out to conquer an adjacent field by himself, created the most compelling and costly perfumes in the world - scents so successful - artistically and commercially - that the world's largest asset manager bought his small olfactory enterprise for nearly $1 billion in 2020. One could arguably have called him the world's most capable perfumer. Except Olivier Creed never authored the scents for which he has long received acclaim and lucre. Gabe Oppenheim reveals the heretofore untold story behind this supposed-cologne colossus of a man - and the eponymous company that became a social media sensation: That scents were authored by someone else entirely - a brilliant ghostwriter - a hidden, scholarly figure with a great passion for Proust and an unfortunate tendency to doubt the quality of his own compositions. How these two figures met and the arrangement was struck - how they circled each other warily for the next 40 years - how lies, told often enough, became truths - Gabe Oppenheim examines as he journeys into the heart of an industry mystifying and fanciful, enormous and intimate, sensuous and yet so-damn-insubstantial. It's an expedition that takes him to a Creed shop in Dubai and the castle in Normandy where the Ghost resides, having left behind a Parisian world that, in some sense, never acknowledged him. And yet, he's a legend in a certain section of the scented demimonde for a few achievements so innovative he wouldn't yield them even to a charismatic manipulator. Oppenheim explores issues of attribution and artistry, credit and craftsmanship, ingenuity and disingenuousness. "The Ghost Perfumer" is the story of a genius and a fraud. And perhaps the greatest con in the history of luxury retail.

To women the whole world over, perfume means glamour, and in the world of perfume, Jean-Claude Ellena is a superstar. In this one-of-a-kind book, the master himself takes you through the doors of his laboratory and explains the process of creating precious fragrances, revealing the key methods and recipes involved in this mysterious alchemy. Perfume is a cutthroat, secretive multibillion-dollar industry, and Ellena provides an insider’s tour, guiding us from initial inspiration through the mixing of essences and synthetic elements, to the deluxe packaging and marketing in elegant boutiques worldwide, and even the increasingly complicated safety standards that are set in motion for each bottle of perfume that is manufactured. He explains how the sense of smell works, using a palette of fragrant materials, and how he personally chooses and composes a perfume. He also reveals his unique way of creating a fragrance by playing with our olfactory memories in order to make the perfume seductive and desired by men and women the world over. Perfume illuminates the world of scent and manufactured desire by a perfumer who has had clients the likes of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, and Hermés.

Winner of the 2016 Perfumed Plume Award The “Alice Waters of American natural perfume” (indieperfume.com) and author of the Art of Flavor celebrates our most potent sense, through five rock stars of the fragrant world Mandy Aftel is widely acclaimed as a trailblazer in natural perfumery. Over two decades of sourcing the finest aromatic ingredients from all over the world and creating artisanal fragrances, she has been an evangelist for the transformative power of scent. In Fragrant, through five major players in the epic of aroma, she explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, make us fully alive. Cinnamon, queen of the Spice Route, touches our hunger for the unknown, the exotic, the luxurious. Mint, homegrown the world over, speaks to our affinity for the familiar, the native, the authentic. Frankincense, an ancient incense ingredient, taps into our longing for transcendence, while ambergris embodies our unquenchable curiosity. And exquisite jasmine exemplifies our yearning for beauty, both evanescent and enduring. In addition to providing a riveting initiation into the history, natural history, and philosophy of scent, Fragrant imparts the essentials of scent literacy and includes recipes for easy-to-make fragrances and edible, drinkable, and useful concoctions that reveal the imaginative possibilities of creating with—and reveling in—aroma. Vintage line drawings make for a volume that will be a treasured gift as well as a great read.

A young French perfumer. A world at war. A personal vengeance that could destroy a family. A must-read for fans of Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn! *From a USA Today Bestselling Author* Europe, 1939: At the dawn of World War II, French perfumer Danielle Bretancourt and her German husband strive to ensure their family's safety, yet neither can foresee the ultimate cost. From London to Paris, Danielle struggles to find her missing child and aid the Resistance, even as she grieves her losses. As the war intensifies, Danielle is forced to seek refuge in America to save the lives of her remaining family. She draws on her skills as a talented perfumer to pull them out of crushing poverty. Yet even as she forges a new life among the Hollywood elite, she cannot forget her lost child nor the man who risked everything for her. Set between privileged lifestyles and gritty realities, The Perfumer is one woman's story of courage, spirit, and resilience. From Jan Moran, USA Today bestselling author, this beloved, bestselling saga was originally published by St. Martin's Press. Also by Jan Moran: The Chocolatier, The Winemakers, and Hepburn's Necklace. For readers who enjoy the romantic historical fiction of Kristin Hannah and Danielle Steel. “A sweeping tale that transports readers from the lavender-scented fields of Provence to the pulsing boulevards of Paris… Heartbreaking, evocative, and inspiring, this book is a powerful journey.” – Allison Pataki, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Accidental Empress "Jan Moran is the new queen of the epic romance." ―USA Today Bestselling Author Rebecca Forster "A stylish, compelling story of a family torn apart by war and a woman's courageous efforts to bring them back together, with everything from romance to heartache, spying, intrigue, and vivid settings. Danielle is just the kind of feisty female protagonist that I love, but what really sets this saga apart is the backdrop of perfumery that suffuses the story with the delicious aromas of rose, jasmine, lavender, bergamot, etc. You can almost smell them as you read - a remarkable feat!"―Liz Trenow, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Forgotten Seamstress “A sweeping saga of one woman’s journey through World War II and her unwillingness to give up even when faced with the toughest challenges.” — Anita Abriel, Author of The Light After the War “A gripping World War II story of poignant love and devastating, heart-wrenching loss.” — Gill Paul, USA Today and Toronto Globe & Mail Bestselling Author of The Secret Wife "Hard to put down…captivating. A 'must-read.'" ―Marvel Fields, Chairman, American Society of Perfumers "Utterly inescapable. Jan Moran's masterful romance comes with a bonus: she interweaves this romantic tale with a behind-the-scenes look at perfumery. The fascinating result is a tale that rivals Danielle Steele at her romantic best!" ―Allegra Jordan, Author of The End of Innocence

An artisan perfumer reveals a lost art and its mysterious, sensual history. For centuries, people have taken what seems to be an instinctive pleasure in rubbing scents into their skin. Perfume has helped them to pray, to heal, and to make love. And as long as there has been perfume, there have been perfumers, or rather the priests, shamans, and apothecaries who were their predecessors. Yet, in many ways, perfumery is a lost art, its creative and sensual possibilities eclipsed by the synthetic ingredients of which contemporary perfumes are composed, which have none of the subtlety and complexity of essences derived from natural substances, nor their lush histories. Essence and Alchemy resurrects the social and metaphysical legacy that is entwined with the evolution of perfumery, from the dramas of the spice trade to the quests of the alchemists to whom today's perfumers owe a philosophical as well as a practical debt. Mandy Aftel tracks scent through the boudoir and the bath and into the sanctums of worship, offering insights on the relationship of scent to sex, solitude, and the soul. Along the way, she imparts instruction in the art of perfume compositions, complete with recipes, guiding the reader in a process of transformation of materials that continues to follow the alchemical dictum solve et coagula (dissolve and combine) and is itself aesthetically and spiritually transforming.

What happens when a special ability allows someone to use a sense in their work that most people cannot? Gitta Kardos is a 40-year-old single businesswoman who lives for her work. As a perfumer, she designs personalised fragrances. But that's just the surface. Her work is much more complex, using her refined sense of smell to detect scents that no one else can. With the right concentration of scents, she can influence the behaviour of others without their awareness. She can put one party at an advantage in business negotiations. It can infer the current state of an athlete's body odour and thus determine his chances of winning for a bookmaker. She can tell whether a negotiating partner is scared, aroused or sexually motivated. And she can do all this by her smelling. Gitta Kardos is brought together with a new client in Budapest, whose order she fulfils without a second thought, putting her and the business she founded with her partners in danger. Before she knows it, she is being hunted by the police as a suspect of multiple murders, and if that wasn't enough, she is being pursued by several assassins. Can she prove his innocence in the murders? Can she outwit his pursuers? Will she find out who wanted her dead? And how can she use his wonderfully sensitive sense of smell to do it?