A young Spaniard sets off for South America in 1518 with Cortez and the Conquistadors, propelled by his love's declaration that she will not marry him until he returns with a special treasure that no man or woman has ever before received. During his travels, however, he falls in love with a native woman who teaches him the secrets of the most delicious potion he has ever tasted: a chocolate drink. Soon our hero discovers that the chocolate elixir has given him the gift of immortality.
The magical and adventurous tale captures the spirit of Paris during the Revolution, Vienna during the early 1900s, Victorian England, and modern America. With delightful appearances by Montezuma, the Marquis de Sade, Sigmund Freud, Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas, it detail one man's fervent quest for love, understanding—and chocolate.

This was pure chocolate coated, doubled-dipped, time-travelling fantasy. I enjoyed the descriptions of people trying different chocolate concoctions for the first time, but sometimes the fantasty was just too far-fetched.

Thanks Kiwicat!

Here I was; drowning in articles on Australian Foreign Policy; when a little parcel arrives filled with a chocolate AND a book about chocolate! What a lovely Easter surprise. Hopefully I will get to read this book over Easter at the Gold Coast (the chocolates are already nearly gone).