The Confectioner's Tale

"A delightful, delicious must-read." --Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop

A sensual tale, set in Paris, of love against all odds, family secrets, and the art of confectionery.

At the famous Patisserie Clermont, a chance encounter with the owner's daughter has given one young man a glimpse into a life he never knew existed: of sweet cream and melted chocolate, golden caramel and powdered sugar, of pastry light as air. But it is not just the art of confectionery that holds him captive, and soon a forbidden love affair begins.

Almost eighty years later, an academic discovers a hidden photograph of her grandfather as a young man with two people she has never seen before. Scrawled on the back of the picture are the words “Forgive me.” Unable to resist the mystery behind it, she begins to unravel the story of two star-crossed lovers and one irrevocable betrayal.

A literary mystery and love story, The Confectioner’s Tale is as pleasurable as the finest French patisserie.

“In her fast-paced, deliciously addictive debut novel, Laura Madeleine throws the reader directly into 1910 Paris. You can feel the grittiness of Montmartre, see the Left Bank streets, and smell the sugar in the patisseries. Featuring romance, family secrets, and a well-executed dual narrative, The Confectioner’s Tale is as transportive a book as you can read.” —Michelle Gable, New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment

After a childhood spent acting professionally and training at a theatre school, LAURA MADELEINE changed her mind and went to study English Literature at Newnham College, Cambridge. The author of The Confectioner's Tale, she now writes fiction, as well as recipes, and was formerly the resident cake baker for Domestic Sluttery. She lives in Bristol, but can often be found visiting her family in Devon, eating cheese, and getting up to mischief with her sister, fantasy author Lucy Hounsom. She lives in the UK.