Two Towns in Provence- Map of Another Town and a Considerable Town by M.F.K. Fisher. This memoir of the French provincial capital of Aix-en-Provence is, as the author tells us, "my picture, my map, of a place and therefore of myself...just as much of its reality is based on my own shadows, my inventions." A vibrant and perceptive profile of the kinship between a person and a place.
Liebling Abroad by A.J. Liebling. A collection by the great New Yorker writer who adopted France as his spiritual (and gustatory) home. Even with the war correspondence, you feel as if you’re in the company of a jovially eccentric uncle who wears his considerable learning lightly.
A Feast at the Beach by William Widmaier
Travel back in time and immerse yourself in the Provence of the late 60s. Sensitively told, filled with humor, tenderness and a beautifully descriptive narrative regaling the reader with the tastes and smells of Southern France, A Feast at the Beach deftly blends the foods of Provence with stories that will touch your heart - and just may inspire you to rediscover your own joie de vivre.
The story of Dick and Nicole Divers, rich Americans holding court in their villa on the French Riviera during the 1920s. Into their circle comes Rosemary Hoyt, a film star, who is instantly attracted to them, but understands little of the dark secrets and hidden corruption that bind them. Luxurious, well-written prose and a gripping, emotional drama.
A Good Year by Peter Mayle
Recently fired City lad inherits chateau and vineyard in Provence (the far side). Trouble is: there's some dodgy goings on with the wine and it's not clear who owns the house. Innocent fun in the grand Peter Mayle tradition - almost the ideal Provence holiday read.
Jean de Florette and Manon les Sources by Marcel Pagnol (also in film)
Fantastic (& simple) tale of passionate, enlightened hunchback who is cheated of his spring by local peasants. The sequel, set 10 years, later is the story of the daughter's revenge. Oozes Provence.
Super-Cannes by JG Ballard
Dark, well-written conspiracy based on Sofia-Antipolis and offbeat englishman who challenges the system. Full of local destinations and, I hope, a fictionalised version of the seamier side of some of those places between Nice & Cannes.
Charming, quirky who's been killing people in the truffle woods whodunnit. Great provencal feeling & full of local colour, folklore, habits etc - set around Banon.
Riviera by Tim Ring
A convivial social history of the Riviera and our anglo fascination with it. Good anecdotes, nice Sunday papers writing style and something for everyone.
The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater
A pleasant, easy-going true story of former All Creatures Great & Small actress who buys & does up dilapidated house near Mougins and takes to getting her 50 olive trees up to production levels.
The Fly Truffler by Gustaf Sobin
Out of the pungent soil and wind-struck orchards of Provence, this enchanting love story will make you believe, if you ever doubted it, in the power of love and the lengths people will go to keep it alive.
Philippe Cabassac has fly-truffled—the art of stalking the flies that lay their eggs directly over the truffles—every winter since childhood on his family estate in Provence. Since the death of his young wife, Julieta, the truffles have come to represent something far more than a delicacy for Cabassac's palate: they trigger an evocative sequence of dream visions in which he and his lost wife enter, on winter nights, a state of intimate and prolonged communion. As Cabassac becomes increasingly involved in his dream life with Julieta, he loses his hold on his teaching obligations, on managing his estate, on his waking life altogether. Set against the fading of traditional Provencal culture and an incandescent Mediterranean landscape, The Fly- Truffler celebrates a love that, by its very ardor, outlasts a lifetime.
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