B O O K S  O N   P R O V E N C E

A    Y E A R    I N    P R O V E N C E

BY PETER MAYLE | by far the best-known book on life in Provencal France, "A Year in Provence" is the author's recollection of his first year living in Provence with his wife and two dogs. Mayle bounds between humorous accounts of his house's plumbing problems and repairs, brought on by an unusually temperamental winter, to bountiful dining experiences replete with wine, sauces, olives -- all the richness of Provencal eating -- to loving, quirky portraits of his charming, rural neighbors and plumbers, all topped off with zestful accounts of truffle-hunting and imposing house guests.

P E R F U M E    F R O M    P R O V E N C E

BY LADY WINIFRED FORTESCUE | written in 1935, this charming account by Lady Winifred Fortescue and her husband, Sir John, is remarkably similar to Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" -- revealing how little life in rural France has changed over the past half-century. Lady Winifred recalls her move to a small stone cottage on the border of Grasse, their struggles with local builders, the joys of harvest and the dangerous task of learning to drive Provencal-style. Fortescue is charming and direct in her accounts, combining subtle wit with unencumbered observation.
March 25, 1997

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