Orion to publish prequel to Joanne Harris' bestselling novel Chocolat

Orion will publish Vianne, the prequel to Joanne Harris’ bestselling and award-winning novel Chocolat (Doubleday, 1999), on 13th March 2025.  

Charlotte Mursell, publishing director, will be publishing. Orion Publishing Group acquired the rights from Jon Wood at RCW Literary Agency. 

Harris has sold 4.2 million copies for £27.7m since records began via Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. All editions of Chocolat have combined for a little over one million copies sold for £5.9m.

The announcement for Vianne comes 25 years to the day since the release of Harris’s first novel in the series, which was later turned into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. 

Vianne is “the long-awaited story of Vianne Rocher and begins six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie in the small French village of Lansquenet”, Orion said. “Just 21-years-old, Sylviane arrives in Marseille to start a new life, and charms her way into a job as a waitress in a run-down bistrot. Here, under the guidance of eccentric Guy Lacarrière she discovers the joy of cooking, a secret love affair and, for the very first time, the true magic of chocolate. Yet as she starts to dream of making a future for herself in the town, she finds herself at the centre of a growing conspiracy that will threaten everything she’s fought so hard for…” 

Doubleday has also announced the reissue of Chocolat, The Lollipop Shoes and Peaches for Monsieur le Curé to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Chocolat, which will release this week. 

Mursell said: “Joanne’s storytelling has been a part of my life for decades now and yet I can still vividly remember turning the pages of Chocolat for the very first time. And so, it’s a dream come true to be returning to this extraordinary world with Vianne and to discover those delicious secrets of this iconic character’s past – secrets that Joanne has kept locked up for so long, waiting for the right moment to unleash.” 

Harris said: “I’m delighted to be able to share the secret of Vianne’s origins with you at last; she and I have been together for a long time, and I’m happy to have this chance to return to her world, and her story.”