The Discovery of Chocolate

In The Discovery of Chocolate, 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 details one man's fervent quest for love, understanding - and chocolate.