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(Even) more new & upcoming perfume books for 2014

Posted by Robin on 20 August 2014 5 Comments

More new and upcoming perfume books for 2014: Dior: The Perfumes by Chandler Burr; The Perfume Bible by Josephine Fairley and Lorna McKay; Season of the Dragonflies by Sarah Creech; and Parfums: Scents and Sensibilities by Philippe Claudel. Also, the second edition of Roja Dove's The Essence of Perfume is due out in October.

Dior: The Perfumes

Dior: The Perfumes, book cover

Written by Chandler Burr (curator of olfactory art at the Museum of Art and Design in New York and former scent critic for the New York Times; also author of The Emperor of Scent and The Perfect Scent) with photography by Terri Weifenbach.

An exquisite exploration of the relationship between Christian Dior and perfumes, celebrating sixty-five years of inspiration, innovation, and style.

Due for publication by Rizzoli in September; Amazon currently shows a hardcover price of of $109.

The Perfume Bible

The Perfume Bible, cover

A new book from Jo Fairley (of BeautyBible) and Lorna McKay:

In this lavishly illustrated, comprehensive guide to scent, beauty experts Josephine Fairley and Lorna McKay bring together everything you need to know about perfume, including guidance on which 'scent family' you belong to, the different strengths of perfume, the art of shopping for fragrance, 100 perfumes to try before you die plus the greatest scents ever bottled. Packed with insider info from the world's leading experts, with interviews with some of greatest international perfumers, this is an essential companion for anyone with a passion for fragrance.

To be published by Kyle Books in September; Amazon currently shows a hardcover price of of $24.37.

Season of the Dragonflies

Season of the Dragonflies, book cover

A novel by Sarah Creech.

As beguiling as the novels of Alice Hoffman, Adriana Trigiani, Aimee Bender, and Sarah Addison Allen, Season of the Dragonflies is a story of flowers, sisters, practical magic, old secrets, and new love, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

For generations, the Lenore women have manufactured a perfume unlike any other, and guarded the unique and mysterious ingredients. Their perfumery, hidden in the quiet rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, creates one special elixir that secretly sells for millions of dollars to the world’s most powerful—movie stars, politicians, artists, and CEOs. The Lenore’s signature perfume is actually the key to their success.

Willow, the coolly elegant Lenore family matriarch, is the brains behind the company. Her gorgeous, golden-haired daughter Mya is its heart. Like her foremothers, she can “read” scents and envision their power. Willow’s younger daughter, dark-haired, soulful Lucia, claims no magical touch, nor does she want any part of the family business. She left the mountains years ago to make her own way. But trouble is brewing. Willow is experiencing strange spells of forgetfulness. Mya is plotting a coup. A client is threatening blackmail. And most ominously, the unique flowers used in their perfume are dying.

Whoever can save the company will inherit it. Though Mya is the obvious choice, Lucia has begun showing signs of her own special abilities. And her return to the mountains—heralded by a swarm of blue dragonflies—may be the answer they all need.

Published earlier this month by William Morrow, available on Amazon in a variety of formats.

Parfums: Scents and Sensibilities

Parfums: Scents and Sensibilities, cover

A sort of scent memoir by French writer, film director and literature professor Philippe Claudel. Originally published in France in 2012, now translated into English.

From the sizzling sharpness of freshly cut garlic to the cool tang of a father's aftershave; the heady intoxication of a fumbled first kiss to the anodyne void of disinfectant and death, this is a decadently original olfactory memoir. In sixty-three elusive episodes we roam freely across the countryside of Lorraine, North-East France, from kitchen to farm to a lover's bed. Recognising the bittersweet nostalgia of a scent that slips away on the summer breeze, Claudel demonstrates again his impeccable grasp of the personal and the universal, interweaved with a rare self-deprecating charm. This is an evocative patchwork at once earthy and ethereal, erotic and heart-breaking. Claudel permits us a glimpse of moments that have driven him to delight or despair, creating through the fading aromas of the past fragments of humour, insight and quite intangible beauty.

I do not know if this will be published in the US, but it is available now for pre-order at Waterstones in the UK, due for publication in October.

More perfume book news for 2014

Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel ~ new perfume book
The Collector of Dying Breaths by M. J. Rose ~ perfume book review
Fragrances of the World 2014 by Michael Edwards ~ new perfume book
More upcoming perfume books for 2014

Filed Under: perfume books
Tagged With: chandler burr

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5 Comments

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  1. des esseintes says:
    20 August 2014 at 2:57 pm

    Much as I love reading books about perfume, I think the Internet has made books like this Perfume Bible a bit reduntant. I don’t think anyone here needs to learn about different perfume concentrations or the different perfume families. Fougere? What a weird word. Floral I get but…and Chypre? All these new words…
    I’ll probably buy it though.

    Is there enough lore behind Dior fragrances for a whole book? I wonder if they write about what Jean-Paul Guerlain said about Poison:
    If this sells I know nothing about perfume!

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      20 August 2014 at 3:09 pm

      I would think the same of the Perfume Bible, but pretty sure it’s part of a series, & maybe that series sells, what do I know 🙂

      Would guess the Dior book was funded by Dior and that a lot of it will be glossy pictures — there are two similar books about Guerlain:

      https://nstperfume.com/2011/02/18/guerlain-by-colette-fellous-perfume-books/

      https://nstperfume.com/2005/08/12/perfume-book-report-guerlain-by-elisabeth-barille/

      Plus there’s one about Diptyque:

      https://nstperfume.com/2008/07/01/diptyque-elisabeth-de-feydeau-book-review/

      And undoubtedly many more I don’t even know about.

      Log in to Reply
  2. Omega says:
    20 August 2014 at 4:10 pm

    Where’s the Perfume for Dummies?

    Log in to Reply
    • Omega says:
      20 August 2014 at 4:11 pm

      Or Chicken Soup for the Perfume Lover’s Soul?

      Log in to Reply
      • Robin says:
        20 August 2014 at 6:19 pm

        Ha…you need to get writing!

        Log in to Reply

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