In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful, unmarried newcomer Vianne Rocher and her young daughter sweep into the pinched little town on a wave of gossip. On the heels of the carnival, Vianne promptly opens a chocolate shop right across the square from the church, and thus begins to wreak havoc with the town's Lenten vows. Vianne finds herself embroiled in a battle for the town's souls with the local priest, Father Reynaud, who tries to cast Vianne - with her unconventional, gypsy-like ways - as the village Jezebel. Soon she has effected a civil war in the little country town between those who prefer the cold comforts of the church and those who revel in the warm delights of chocolate. But each box of chocolates she sells comes a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness, and a dramatic confrontation between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival. A literary confection that has already become an international sensation, Chocolat lingers in the memory like the taste of a splendidly aged Burgundy. It is an enchanting and timeless story about temptation, pleasure, and what a complete waste of time it is to deny yourself anything. -- from dust jacket.