Fresh Water for Flowers : Over 1 million copies sold

Valerie Perrin

*A NUMBER 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*


A TLS' BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021: "Beautifully written and compelling to read."


"An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships."-The Guardian



Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Her daily life is lived to the rhythms of the hilarious and touching confidences of random visitors and her colleagues-three gravediggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest.


Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of police chief Julien Seul, wishing to deposit his mother's ashes on the gravesite of a complete stranger. Julien is not the only one to guard a painful secret: his mother's story of clandestine love breaks through Violette's carefully constructed defences to reveal the tragic loss of her daughter, and her steely determination to find out who is responsible.


The funny, moving, intimately told story of a woman who believes obstinately in happiness, Fresh Water for Flowers brings out the exceptional and the poetic in the ordinary. A delightful, atmospheric, absorbing tale.

What readers are saying:

"I'd read this book over and over again"

"One of those books that you don't want to end"

"Absolutely amazing story"

"This is one of the BEST BOOKS EVER WRITTEN!"

"A really moving story of hope love and determination"

"this is one of the most life-affirming books I have read"