The internationally bestselling debut for fans of Chocolat and The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

'A beautifully written novel. Its characters are brought to life so eloquently, and the blossoming of Miss Prim is so complete: she learns the value in life and love that has been lost in our modern-day hustle. An exquisite book and a joy to read' Deborah Rodriguez, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul

In this #1 international bestseller, a young woman leaves everything behind to work as a librarian in a remote French village: a delightful tale of love, literature, philosophy and the search for happiness.

Prudencia Prim is a young woman of intelligence and achievement, with a deep knowledge of literature and several letters after her name. But when she accepts the post of private librarian in the village of San Ireneo de Arnois, she is unprepared for what she encounters there. Her employer, a book-loving intellectual, is dashing yet contrarian, always ready with a critique of her cherished Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott. The neighbours, too, are capable of charm and eccentricity in equal measure, determined as they are to preserve their singular little community from the modern world outside.

Prudencia hoped for friendship in San Ireneo but she didn't suspect that she might find love - nor that the course of her new life would run quite so rocky, would offer challenge and heartache as well as joy, discovery and fireside debate. The Awakening of Miss Prim is a distinctive and delightfully entertaining tale of literature, philosophy and the search for happiness.