The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury

by Marc Levy

“Last year a man who particularly liked one of my perfumes got my address from a shopkeeper and came to see me. He brought along a little box that contained a bit of braided leather cord, a tin soldier whose painted uniform was chipped off, an agate marble, and a ragged little flag. It was the summary of his childhood all in a tiny metal box. He told me that when he first smelled my perfume, he was overcome by the strange and inexplicable desire to go home and go through his attic to find that box, one he’d completely forgotten about until then. He had me smell the interior of the box and asked if I could reproduce the mix of odors before it faded away. I rather stupidly told him that it was impossible, but after he left, I wrote down what I had smelled. The rust on the inside of the lid, the hemp of the cord, the tin, the old oil paint, the oak that had been used to sculpt the little toy, the dusty silk of the flag, the agate marble . . . I think I still have that list somewhere. I kept it, not knowing what to do with it. But today, with some more experience, by continuing to observe and study, like the way you made all those sketches this afternoon, I think I know what to do. I have an idea about how to make a perfume that could combine many different materials. You seem to be inspired by forms and colors, but for me, it’s odors.

I enjoy how Levy employs the scents that so envelope us in life to also emerge us in the narrative.