The Rarest Fruit

1829. Sainte-Suzanne, Bourbon Island. A Black orphan, a slave of only seven weeks, is placed – as if by fate – into the arms of Ferréol Beaumont, a botanist with a passion for orchids. He raises this child, Edmond, teaching him all he knows of the lush plants that populate his tropical garden. 

At twelve years old, the illiterate young prodigy unlocks the secret to hand-pollinating the vanilla orchid, revolutionizing not only the island’s economy but French patisserie, perfumes & more. While his discovery brings prosperity to others, the exhilarating aroma of the vanilla flower soon dissipates for Edmond as a bitter reality stretches out before him – his brilliance unrecognized, his name forgotten.

A caustic look at the nineteenth-century history of Reunion Island under French colonial rule. For lovers of history, botany and vanilla ice cream.

Winner of Prix du Roman Métis des Étudiants 2024

‘A dark historical tale, an exotic island in itself, full of colour and scent and lit by flashes of irony and wit. This is the fascinating true story of the orphan born into slavery who made possible the vanilla in your ice-cream.’ William Wall

‘The Réunionese novelist writes in elegant prose, with an agile rhythm & a playful spirit. She has the ability to sketch a whole life of hopes & defeats in a single paragraph.’ Le Monde

‘A two-century-old story brought back to life by [Bélem]'s sharp, voluptuous, no-nonsense pen ... in this fictionalized biography blending fantasy, Creole mythology & Réunionese folklore.’ Le Point

Award-winning author Gaëlle Bélem from Reunion has published two novels with Gallimard – Un monstre est là, derrière la porte (2020) & Le fruit le plus rare (2023). Her third book, Sud sauvage is forthcoming April 2025. She works as a juvenile court judge as well as teaching Latin, Geography & History.

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