Scent of a Truffle

A novel by Cécile Ganne

Out September 2025

“She paused, transported by this incandescent vision… It was a limitless feeling of expansion that washed over her as the separation between interior and exterior merged, and the gleaming floor merged with the polished pews in a single flush.”

The medieval village of St. Calin is preparing for the celebration of la Fête de la Truffle — The Truffle Fair.

Adèle Montfort is a dying widow. She has lived her entire life on a truffle-rich patch of land in the southwestern French town of Calignac, famous for its annual Fête de la Truffe.

The land has been in her family for generations and will eventually go to her granddaughter, Mathilde.

Or so she hopes.

When the town Mayor schemes to acquire Adèle's property in order to sell her truffles and game to a famous Parisian culinary chef, Adèle faces a woeful dilemma: Should she simply step aside and live out her remaining days in peace? Or should she pick up that last battle and fendo off the Mayor's ruthless plot?

What follows is a story about greed, cultural heritage, and awakening as Adèle undertakes to instill the value of legacy into her granddaughter.

When clients ask where my inspiration comes from, the answer is plain an obvious. It begins in a place few know deeply but many dream of: the Dordogne Valley in the South West of France—a land steeped in mystery, rooted in memory, and pulsing with the quiet power of the unseen.

This novella is not just a story; it’s a fragrant trail of mischief and legacy, laced with the earthy allure of truffles and the secrets they guard. It evokes a world I carry in my bones—where every footpath, stone wall, and breath of wind feeds my art and awakens the imagination.

Writing it was not a task, but a reckoning. A way to gather the fragments of place, silence, and soul. To invite you, dear reader, to pause—and step into the stillness where stories begin to bloom.

  • Truffle market

  • Medieval village

    Medieval village

  • Trufferie

    Trufferie

  • Dordogne Isles

    Dordogne Isles

  • The first truffle of the season

  • Shepherd's shelter or ​Gariotte

    Shepherd's shelter or Gariotte

  • Church steeple at sunset

    Steeple at sunset

  • Dordogne River