Bestselling author ALKA JOSHI visits Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Tuesday, April 4th to present the third book in her Jaipur Trilogy, The Perfumist of Paris. Alka will read from, discuss, and sign copies of her new novel and will be joined in conversation by author Anita Amirrezvani (right).
SPECIAL OFFER: Pre-order a signed copy of Alka Joshi’s The Perfumist of Paris and receive a LilaNur Parfums Discovery Set with your copy of the book! LilaNur Parfums is a fragrance house which combines the best of Indian and French perfumery traditions, pairing exquisite Indian ingredients with French master perfumery. More information about LilaNur can be found at lilanur.com. While supplies last, copies must be picked up at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore.
The event is free, but you must sign up in advance on Eventbrite or contact us at the store prior to the presentation.
From the author of Reese's Book Club Pick The Henna Artist, the final chapter in the New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha’s budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past. It's 1974, and Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion—the treasure trove of scents.
She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her.
Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her—upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.
ALKA JOSHI was born in India and raised in the U.S. since she was nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. Joshi's debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a NYT bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub pick, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, & is in development as a TV series. Her second novel, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur was published in 2021.
ANITA AMIRREZVANI received an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and teaches at the California College. She is the author of the novels Equal of the Sun and The Blood of Flowers, which has been published in more than twenty-five languages and was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction.
THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 4:30 pm on April 4th.
BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.
DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.
WALK INS will be accommodated only if space allows.
WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.