The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel of Suspense (47 page)

Nowadays, the region is particularly well known for its jasmine, lavender, roses and violet leaves, and it has attracted a vast number of factories that process the raw perfume materials. Grasse’s cornerstone perfumeries include Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard.

On display in Musée International de la Parfumerie, nineteenth-century copper alembic stills used in the distillation process of extracting scent from flowers.

Outside the Musée International de la Parfumerie in Grasse, a sculpture of a seventeenth-century perfumer selling his wares.

hallucinogen
A substance, usually inhaled or ingested, which produces hallucinations. Chemical compounds found in certain plant species can affect the central nervous system when ingested, resulting in adjusted brain function, which can ultimately alter mood, consciousness and perception. A number of fungi and cacti species and many other psychoactive botanicals have been used in folk preparations of hallucinogens for millennia, and many cultures have a recorded history of their use for medicinal, religious and shamanistic purposes.

The ancient Egyptians worked with botanicals like blue lotus (a water lily that contains psychoactive compounds), to which Rose refers in her book. Other hallucinogenic compounds were added to incense preparations, mixtures of natural ingredients that were rolled into balls and placed onto hot coals to release a perfumed smoke. In folk culture, messages received through visions, hallucinations and altered states were regarded as prophetic and/or divine.

incense
A blend of aromatic botanical components that release a perfumed smoke when burned. Incense has been used in purification, meditation and religious rituals since the dawn of time. Many incense preparations in the ancient world had hypnotic properties or a narcotising effect (see hallucinogen). Incense is said to carry prayers to the heavens, to ward off negative spirits, and to bring joy and peace to the soul. Burning it brings positive energy and a balance to our emotions. It is a used in many cultures as a meditation tool and to promote spiritual healing with its tranquil aromatics (see ancient perfume).

karma
A spiritual law that concerns cause and effect. In a reincarnation belief system, it is thought that souls are brought back to life to atone for or rectify sins, repay psychic debts or to complete unfinished tasks. In essence, one has to return to the mortal world to satisfy one’s karmic responsibility.

maceration
A method of extracting fragrant oils from botanical materials by steeping or soaking them in either a cold or a heated solvent solution. Maceration can take from several days to months, depending on the desired outcome. Aromatic compounds gradually pass into the solution, the plant matter is removed, and the perfumed solution is later filtered of impurities.

niche perfumes
A perfume created by a boutique or artisanal studio, whose production and distribution are on a much smaller scale than that of mainstream or designer perfumes. Perfumes have also been classified as being either niche or mainstream based upon the number of retail outlets they are supported in. Niche perfumes often tend to be preferred by serious perfumistas, as they offer the uniqueness and hands-on craftsmanship that a lot of mainstream scents are lacking. Rose met several niche perfumers, notably the amazing Olivier Durbano, and was inspired by their artistry and talent. In the book, the character Robbie L’Etoile is an homage to these men and women.

Olivier Durbano, architect, jeweler, niche perfumer extraordinaire, and M. J. Rose. Olivier was the inspiration for one of the characters in the book.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
In 1995, the Dalai Lama identified the next reincarnated Panchen Lama, a five-year-old boy named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Months later, the child disappeared. The Chinese government admits to taking Nyima but claims he is alive and living with his family in Tibet. His whereabouts, however, remain unknown and no foreign party has been allowed to see him since his disappearance.

Oud
A fragrant oil extracted from the resinous heartwood of the aquilaria (agarwood) tree, which grows in abundance in India and Southeast Asia. Aquilaria trees are susceptible to blight by way of a fungus that causes a rich, dark resin to form within the heartwood. This wood is then harvested and distilled to produce pure Oud oil, which has a very unique odor profile. One of the world’s most expensive perfume ingredients, Oud is also prized for its spiritual and esoteric value.

perfume and the afterlife
In ancient times, scent was aligned with religion and the afterlife. The soul was believed to travel to the next life on the stairway of smoke from the burning incense. Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, which the author studied in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, show Egyptians wearing perfumed cones on their head.

perfumer’s organ
The central workspace at which the perfumer is seated, which is surrounded by ascending staggered rows of small shelves that are laid out in an amphitheatrical arrangement. These shelves hold numerous small bottles of oils and absolutes, each of which is within easy reach of the perfumer while he or she is composing a fragrance. The complex, tiered appearance of the workspace resembles the console of a chapel organ.

Rose traveled to France to learn more about the perfume industry and history, and it was seeing one of these organs in Paris that inspired the antique one in the novel.

The laboratory of a great perfumer, on display in Paris, France.

pyramid
The basic structure of a traditional perfume, comprising top notes, middle notes and base notes. Top notes are those components that you can smell upon initial application. Traditionally, these comprise of lighter citrus oils and tend to evaporate rapidly. Middle notes are the essences that emerge after the top notes have faded. They represent the heart of the perfume. Generally florals, spices and herbaceous components reside here. Base notes are the foundation upon which a perfume is built. They are traditionally comprised of heavier or muskier notes that act as the perfume’s backbone. These include woods, resins, mosses and animalic facets such as civet or ambergris. Base notes linger on the skin after the top and middle notes have vanished.

reincarnation
The word derives from Latin and means “entering the flesh again.” A synonym, “metempsychosis,” means “transmigration of the soul.” Reincarnation is the belief that after death the soul returns to a new body—usually without memory of the previous life. The doctrine is incorporated into almost all Indian religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. But reincarnation doctrine appears in the beliefs of certain Jewish, Christian and Islam sects as well, including followers of the Cabbala, Catharism, the Alawi, Gnostic and Esoteric Christianity and the Druze. Reincarnation is also part of Native American, Greek and Norse mythologies.

Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Plotinus, Hermes, Raymond Lully, Nicolás de Cusa, Leonardo da Vinci, Edmund Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton and Yeats all explored and wrote about rebirth in their work. Spinoza and Leibniz, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Walt Whitman, W.B. Yeats, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, General George Patton, Kant, Herder, Lessing, Hume and Carl Jung all believed in or wrote about the idea of rebirth.

sillage
The lingering trail of perfume that remains behind, particularly after the wearer has left the room.
Sillage
is the French word for wake.

soul migration
The belief that a soul returns to a very specific and tailored set of circumstances in order to rectify a previous sin.

Dr. Ian Stevenson (October 31, 1918–February 8, 2007)
Dr. Stevenson was a biochemist and professor of psychiatry who headed the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. He spent forty years studying more than 3,000 cases of reincarnation in children. Stevenson believed that reincarnation might help both modern medicine and psychiatry in understanding certain behaviors that had no other explanation. He wrote several books, including
Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation
and
Reincarnation and Biology
. His work is carried on today by Dr. Jim Tucker.

Tibetan reincarnation
In Tibetan Buddhism, a
tulku
is a person who has been identified as a reincarnation of a great master. A
tulku
can choose the manner of his (or her) rebirth. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Buddha is said to exist in three bodies. One of these, the
nirmanakaya
is the earthly, physical body, which manifests in the world to help bring all beings to enlightenment. Since 1193, hundreds of living masters have been identified. The Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are the highest ranked.

Different religious methods are used to help identify a reincarnated
tulku
. Among these are oracles, retreats, portents, searches for mothers who’ve had unusual dreams and children who process certain knowledge without receiving training.