Where did you find the inspiration to write The Secret Ways of Perfume?

From my own experience. I live in the countryside, surrounded by all kinds of plants and flowers – and I’m a beekeeper, which is more than a job for me, it’s a lifestyle. My world is full of perfumes. Keeping bees means you live very closely with nature. Their wellbeing is essential, so I learned to watch them, study their work, adapt to their habits. When flowers mature and start to secrete the nectar the bees feed on, the air is filled with perfumes. That’s when harvesting starts. Over time, I’ve learned to recognise the different nuances of how flowers communicate with the bees. While this knowledge came gradually, it has ended up being quite extensive. I started to pay attention, to smell everything, and I understood that perfume is a language, a subtle and immediate means of communication. It wasn’t a discovery, though – you can’t discover something that has always existed. I just saw what was already there, available, before my eyes. I had a sense of loss for the things I hadn’t known and I was so fascinated by this world – that I’d unwittingly neglected for so long – that I felt I had to share it with everyone. But how could I tell such a complicated story? Only a perfumier could do it. A woman capable of great feelings, delicate sensitivity. The descendant of an ancient family that passed down their knowledge from mother to daughter. I was sure she would know how to describe this world of perfumes and smells, carefully weighing words and concepts, communicating emotions. That was when I saw a little girl, and her grandmother. They were the right people, they would be able to convey the importance of perfume.

Perfume is the way, it tells a story, and it is a language to communicate our emotions: this is what Elena’s grandmother tells her. Does perfume have these powers for you, too?

I’m certain it does. Smells are primal: they warn us, they fascinate us, some of them disgust us. Perfumes reach deep inside us and crystallize our emotions. Some of them bring back moments from our past, evoking the feelings we had. Just one smell, the perfume in the air on a particular day, and our memory springs into action. Perfumes cheer us up, so a couple of drops of our favourite perfume can turn a dull day into something special. They can also be comforting, like the smell of bread or biscuits fresh from the oven, vanilla, or washing powder.

How did you discover the meaning of perfumes?

When the idea for the novel was taking shape, I began to take an interest in artisan perfumery, in fragrances for people who want a unique perfume. It was a very intriguing concept, that of an individual essence, made to measure like a suit. And I wondered why I adored certain smells, felt indifferent towards others, and some I just couldn’t stand. So I started to research as much as I could to do with perfume and I discovered that each smell has its own message, and each perfume elicits a reaction from the person who smells it or wears it. For example, some fragrances are therapeutic, they help us through difficult situations, some make us feel more secure, others might be the touch that livens up an important date or makes a special night unforgettable.

The book contains several formulas for creating perfumes, from the ancient to the modern. Where does this passion come from?

It comes from the pleasure I take in smelling them, and from my endless curiosity for perfumes. I wanted to know about every mechanism, every step required in the creation of a perfume. And discovering that the process hasn’t really changed over the centuries was illuminating. Of course, the essences are different now to the ones used in the past, and everything is properly regulated, but the process itself isn’t so very different to what the original master perfumiers were doing. What is different today is the concept, the idea, or as they call it, the brief. Now perfume tells a story: it starts with the top notes, the first ones you smell, then the middle, and finally the real weight of the perfume: the base notes.

Elena has a special talent for understanding people and trying to help them using perfume. But at one point in her life she rejects it because it’s linked to memories that are too painful for her. Do you think your past and you own experiences can make you forget who you really are?

A deep disappointment, especially when you’re very young like Elena, can trigger a sort of resistance to the thing that caused the pain. We often turn to something else, something we can rationally approve. I think we lose ourselves a lot, but I don’t believe it’s a real rejection, rather the search for an acceptable alternative. But taking a path that isn’t really yours only works up to a point. Deceiving yourself won’t make you happy. We are heart and soul and roots, it’s not enough to be rational. We live in a society that focuses on appearance at the expense of substance, and our standards distance us from our own individuality, which is actually our greatest asset. The most wonderful thing that can happen to a person is for them to be themselves. Finding yourself, knowing yourself and accepting yourself is a good start to being happy.

When she was still very young, Elena had to learn that even a mother can make the wrong choices. And only when she is about to have a child herself does she come to understand her own mother and perhaps to forgive her – because being a mother is the most difficult job in the world. You have three children, do you think that’s true?

I think that’s a universal concept. It’s easy for us all to be harsh judges, but when we have to deal with a new role, when we stop watching and start doing, everything changes. Being a mother is complicated. So being a good mother is very difficult. You have to think of everything, be there all the time – and often that’s impossible. I think a lot of generational rifts have been bridged and healed by that change of role from daughter to mother. This happens to Elena, who finally begins to understand her own mother when she faces difficulties she could never have imagined before. At a certain point in her life, Elena finds herself going through a difficult pregnancy, alone, exactly like Susanna – what could be more enlightening?

The first time Elena meets Cail, she can tell that he’s a sensitive man with a troubled heart from his perfume only, which ‘smells like roses and rain’. Perhaps she also recognises some of her own suffering in him. Two lonely souls who meet and discover new ways of making peace with themselves so that they can open up to each other . . . Is that what love means to you?

The thing that first unites Elena and Cail is instinct, something magical and illogical. They both feel the need to look at one another, to be close to one another, to find moments of happiness. It’s not something you can explain, it’s entirely irrational: a meeting of kindred spirits, a mutual affection and desire. That mystery is what love means to me. Love has the power to change anything – it is essentially the most powerful driving force that exists. Love makes us consider things that were inconceivable before. And a change of perspective can help us to understand others and accept ourselves.

Another of the novel’s protagonists is Paris. The ville lumière, with its characteristic winding streets, its stunning monuments, its magical atmosphere. When did you fall in love with this city?

I visited France years ago. The whole country made an unforgettable impression on me: the dazzlingly bright sky, the perfume, the friendly, smiling people, the magnificent castles, the countryside lined with long rows of flowers. And Paris is the symbol of France. A city full of charm, history, art and genius. It’s synonymous with wonder and romance . . . and perfume. Everything about it inspired me: the places; the sophisticated, musical cadence of the accent; the way a cosmopolitan city takes life with a smile. I couldn’t have chosen any other setting for my novel.

There is a lot of nature in the book: blooming lavender fields, gardens full of roses, even the markets brimming with flowers and plants. How important is nature and the outdoors to you?

‘Important’ might not be the right word. For me the outdoors is fundamental. It couldn’t be any other way, given that my work takes me into the countryside, looking for flowers for my bees. But I think nature has always been part of me. I grew up in the countryside, and my grandparents there played an important role in my upbringing. They taught me to watch and listen. Then there’s my other great passion that brings me close to nature: roses. I love them! And I share that beautifully-scented joy with my mother. We have so many, from the biggest, most captivating blooms to the simplest, most delicate buds. We have historic, ancient and modern roses. Smelling the perfume of English roses, for example, is an unforgettable experience.

What’s your favourite perfume?

My house is surrounded by citrus gardens, and in May everything turns the bright green of new leaves and the white of the flowers. In those few weeks, the air is full of perfume. It’s fruity, intense and heady, or dare I say hypnotic: the perfume of orange blossom, my favourite perfume. It reminds me of my childhood, the desserts the women in my family used to make when I was little, playing games and running under the trees. Whenever I smell it, I’m enchanted and I feel good, I feel happy.

Are you working on a new novel yet?

Yes, it’s a novel about deep emotions, the story of a family, a secret and a passion that helps the protagonist see her life in a new way. Women are always a great source of inspiration for me: they never give up, and despite their difficulties, they always manage to face life with a smile.