My first encounter with Paul et Virginie was as an object – my mother’s old edition in French with beautiful engravings. I loved to look at it as a kid and would make up stories around the illustrations – some of these images have been reproduced inGenie and Paul. My mother told me the story of Paul et Virginie, but it wasn’t until I could read enough French that I came to know Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s text.

Read Natasha’s exclusive interview with London bookseller Foyles,in full here.