Belinda Alexandra — Wild Lavender

HarperCollins Publishers 2005 Paperback, 610pp. A novel as memorable as the scent of lavender. At fourteen, Simone Fleurier is wrenched from her home on a Provencal lavender farm and sent to work in Marseilles. Her life there is hard and impoverished, but Simone discovers the music hall and a dream: to one day be a famous dancer and singer. But when war threatens, Simone makes a decision that will lead to great danger - yet ultimately prove that love, just like wild lavender can grow in the least likely of places . Belinda Alexandra has created a tale of passion and courage that moves from the backstreets of Marseilles to the grand music theaters of Paris, from the countryside of Provence to decadent pre-war Berlin and Jazz-Age New York. Wild Lavender is a feast for the senses that wil live on in the imagination long after the book is closed. (ISBN: 9780732276287). Good.