Joanne Harris to Release Fourth ‘Chocolat’ Novel

It’s seven years since Joanne Harris released the third book in the Chocolat canon and now it’s announced that there’s a fourth book coming from publisher, Orion.

Two decades after the release of Chocolat comes The Strawberry Thief, the fourth book in the series. The novel will feature protagonist Vianne Rocher in the French town of Lansquenet and will be published in hardback, paperback, eBook and audio in April of next year. Pre-order links aren’t yet available but we’ll update once the book is on sale.

The first novel in the series, Chocolat was published in 1999, in 2007, The Lollipop Shoes followed with the third book, Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure released in 2012. In total the series has sold more than two million copies in the UK alone and has been exported around the world. Chocolat was also made into a movie.

In The Strawberry Thief, Vianna is back in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, with her second daughter Rosette. The description reads “But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is thrown into disarray. The arrival of Narcisse’s relatives, the departure of an old friend and the opening of a mysterious new shop in the place of the florist’s across the square – one that mirrors the chocolaterie, and has a strange appeal of its own – all seem to herald some kind of change: a confrontation, a turbulence – even, perhaps, a murder…”

Fans of the series will be thrilled to hear there is to be another instalment and the new novel will add to Harris’ already extensive bibliography including sixteen novels, a Doctor Who novella, three cookbooks and much more.

We’ll be back with more news and pre-order links later in the year but The Strawberry Thief is marked for release in April 2019.

Chocolat

The Lollipop Shoes

Monsieur Le Cure

The Strawberry Thief