A beautiful tale of a new life in France; an account of the highs and lows of restoring an olive farm, and the colourful characters met with in a typical Provencal village.  It'll make you want to sell up and escape the UK for a sun-drenched life on the continent.
 
The Olive Farm series:

1. The Olive Farm
2. The Olive Season
3. The Olive Harvest
4. The Olive Route
5. The Olive Tree
6. Return to the Olive Farm

Synopsis

The first in Carol Drinkwater's bestselling trilogy set on a Provencal olive farm.
"All my life, I have dreamed of acquiring a crumbling, shabby-chic house overlooking the sea. In my mind's eye, I have pictured a corner of paradise where friends can gather to swim, relax, debate, eat fresh fruits picked directly from the garden and great steaming plates of food served from an al fresco kitchen and dished up on to a candlelit table the length of a railway sleeper..."

When Carol Drinkwater and her partner Michel have the opportunity to buy 10 acres of disused olive farm in Provence, the idea seems absurd. After all, they don't have a lot of money, and they've only been together a little while.
 

The Olive Farm is the story of the highs and lows of purchasing the farm and life in Provence: the local customs and cuisine; the threats of fire and adoption of a menagerie of animals; the potential financial ruin and the thrill of harvesting their own olives - especially when they are discovered to produce the finest extra-virgin olive oil...

Reviews

‘Beautifully written with a great sense of humour, it captures perfectly the dreamy atmosphere of the South of France and its people’ WOMAN AND HOME

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

About the Author

Carol Drinkwater was our Guest Editor in May 2011 - click here - to see the books that inspired her writing.   Best known for her role as Helen Herriot in BBC Television's All Creatures Great and Small (for which she was awarded The Variety Club Television Personality of the Year Award), Carol Drinkwater has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as both an actress and writer. During her acting career she has worked in film, television and theatre. Her credits include working with Laurence Olivier at the National Theatre and Stanley Kubrick on A Clockwork Orange. Carol is the author of six bestselling memoirs: The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest, The Olive Route and The Olive Tree and Return to the Olive Farm. Carol is currently working with UNESCO on a lavish documentary film series inspired by her two most recent books, THE OLIVE ROUTE and THE OLIVE TREE.   The series is both travel and history based and will follow an Olive Heritage Trail around the Mediterranean Basin. The aim is to celebrate the cultural heritage of this sacred tree.   Author Photo © Michel Noll More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation