A second idyllic helping of rural life in France from the bestselling author of the classic A YEAR IN PROVENCE.
Skulking through customs with a suitcase full of truffles, toads singing the Marseillaise, taking pastis lessons and finding gold at the bottom of the garden, you might think there is little time left for pleasures of the table.
TOUJOURS PROVENCE proves that while you might not be able to get away from it all, you can have fun trying.
'Peter Mayle's idyllic portrait makes you almost taste the wonderful food and wine, feel the sun and balmy breezes' Sunday Express
'Anyone with any feel for the land and the people who lead their lives close to it will be enchanted' Yorkshire Evening Post
'Splendidly amusing... filled with things which will help you to understand, at least in part, the glory of this wonderful place' Dirk Bogarde
The beloved author Peter Mayle, champion of all things Provence, here in a final volume of all new writing, offers vivid recollections from his twenty-five years in the South of France--lessons learned, culinary delights enjoyed, and changes observed.
Twenty-five years ago, Peter Mayle and his wife, Jennie, were rained out of a planned two weeks on the Côte d'Azur. In search of sunlight, they set off for Aix-en-Provence; enchanted by the world and life they found there, they soon decided to uproot their lives in England and settle in Provence. They have never looked back. As Mayle tells us, a cup of café might now cost three euros--but that price still buys you a front-row seat to the charming and indelible parade of village life.
After the coffee, you might drive to see a lavender field that has bloomed every year for centuries, or stroll through the ancient history that coexists alongside Marseille's metropolitan bustle. Modern life may have seeped into sleepy Provence, but its magic remains.With his signature warmth, wit, and humor--and twenty-five years of experience--Peter Mayle is a one-of-a-kind guide to the continuing appeal of Provence.
This thoughtful, vivid exploration of life well-lived, à la Provence, will charm longtime fans and a new generation of readers alike.
Bestselling author Peter Mayle showcases his talents in this delightful children's storybook.
Tomorrow night, just before you go to bed, creep into the kitchen very, very quietly. Go up to the fridge, and don't make a sound ...
Once you meet Chilly Billy and hear of his adventures inside the refrigerator, you'll never open the fridge door in quite the same way again. Chilly Billy is a fun and lovable character you won't soon forget.
Bon vivant and expert sleuth Sam Levitt and his partner in love and intrigue, Elena Morales, return in the latest installment of the delightfully sun-splashed Provençal Caper series.
When a Riviera socialite's diamonds are stolen-the latest in a string of seemingly unconnected but ever-more-audacious jewelry heists across France-Elena flies in to investigate the insurance claim. It's a trip she's more than happy to make, as it gives her a chance to meet up with old friends in Marseille-and, particularly, with Sam.
Once reunited, Sam isn't entirely distracted by domestic matters. In the pattern of these "perfect crimes" he's beginning to see a master at work, and he's quickly determined to connect and solve the cases. But as he and Elena dig deeper, they begin to realize just how much is connected and how dangerous it may be to pursue the whole truth.
Meanwhile, there's a house to renovate, rosé to share, and feasts of Provençal summer bounty to enjoy. Full of Peter Mayle's inimitable wit and style, The Diamond Caper is sure to charm faithful fans and new readers alike.
Acquired Tastes, originally published as Expensive Habits, is a celebration of life’s extravagances. It explores an aspect of human nature that, although dormant in hard economic times, is capable of erupting with the hint of good fortune and the drop of a credit card. It samples the luxuries of Havana cigars, Parisian hotels, bespoke London tailoring, hand-made shoes, the proper color for a stretch limousine, and weighs the cost versus the pleasure of keeping a mistress. The proper way to eat true caviar is explained while providing the listener with hours of pure, unadulterated escapism.
“This delightful celebration of the little (and not-so-little) extravagances that make life worth living scintillates with wit, brio, and trenchant observations on the best and the second-rate.”—Publishers Weekly
Here is Peter Mayle at his effervescent best—his master sleuth, Sam Levitt, eating, drinking, and romancing his way through the South of France even as he investigates a case of deadly intrigue among the Riviera’s jet set.
Billionaire Francis Reboul is taking in the view at his coastal estate, awaiting the arrival of vacationing friends Sam Levitt and Elena Morales, when he spies a massive yacht whose passengers seem a little too interested in his property. The yacht belongs to rapacious Russian tycoon Oleg Vronsky, who, for his own purposes, will stop at nothing to obtain Reboul’s villa. When Reboul refuses to sell, Vronsky’s methods quickly turn unsavory. Now it’s up to Sam—he’s saved Reboul’s neck before—to negotiate with an underworld of mercenaries and hit men, not to mention the Corsican mafia, to prevent his friend from becoming a victim of Vronsky’s “Russian diplomacy.”
The dire situation doesn’t stop Sam and Elena from attending glamorous fêtes where the wines and starlets alike sparkle, and enjoying sumptuous meals—from multicourse revelations to understated delights like the first asparagus of the season, on which one must make a wish. But as Sam’s sleuthing draws him closer to the truth of Vronsky’s schemes, he realizes Reboul might not be the only one unable to enjoy the good life for long.
Brimming with entertaining twists, sparkling scenery, and mouthwatering gustatory interludes as only Peter Mayle can write them, The Corsican Caper is a one-way ticket to pleasure, Provençal style.
Lovable rogue and sleuth extraordinaire Sam Levitt is back in another beguiling, as-only-Peter-Mayle-can-write-it romp through the South of France.
At the end of The Vintage Caper, Sam had just carried off a staggering feat of derring-do in the heart of Bordeaux, infiltrating the ranks of the French elite to rescue a stolen, priceless wine collection. With the questionable legality of the adventure-and the threat of some very powerful enemies!-Sam thought it'd be a while before he returned to France, especially with the charms of the beautiful Elena Morales to keep him in Los Angeles.
But when the immensely wealthy Francis Reboul-the victim of Sam's last heist but someone who knows talent when he sees it-asks our hero to take a job in Marseille, it's impossible for Sam and Elena to resist the possibility of further excitement . . . to say nothing of the pleasures of the region. Soon the two are enjoying the coastal sunshine and the delectable food and wine for which Marseille is known. Yet as a competition over Marseille's valuable waterfront grows more hotly disputed, Sam, representing Reboul, finds himself in the middle of an increasingly intrigue-ridden and dangerous real-estate grab, with thuggish gangsters on one side and sharklike developers on the other.
Will Sam survive this caper unscathed? Will he live to enjoy another bowl of bouillabaisse? All will be revealed-with luck, savvy, and a lot of help from Sam's friends-in the novel's wonderfully satisfying climax.
With an updated foreword by Peter Mayle, Acquired Tastes, originally published in 1993, is a celebration of life's extravagances. Exploring an aspect of human nature that, although lying dormant in hard economic times, is capable of erupting with the hint of good fortune and the drop of a credit card, it samples the luxuries of Havana cigars, Parisian Hotels, bespoke London tailoring, hand-made shoes, and the proper color for a stretch limousine. It weighs the cost versus the pleasure of keeping a mistress, and explains the proper way to eat true caviar, all while providing the listener with hours of pure, unadulterated escapism.
Set in Hollywood, Paris, Bordeaux, and Marseille, Peter Mayles newest and most delightful novel is filled with culinary delights, sumptuous wines, and colorful characters. Its also a lot of fun.
The story begins high above Los Angeles, at the extravagant home and equally impressive wine cellar of entertainment lawyer Danny Roth. Unfortunately, after inviting the Los Angeles Times to write an extensive profile extolling the liquid treasures of his collection, Roth finds himself the victim of a world-class wine heist.
Enter Sam Levitt, former corporate lawyer, cultivated crime expert, and wine connoisseur. Called in by Roths insurance company, which is now saddled with a multimillion-dollar claim, Sam follows his leads, to Bordeaux and its magnificent vineyards, and to Provence to meet an eccentric billionaire collector who might possibly have an interest in the stolen wines. Along the way, bien sûr, he is joined by a beautiful and erudite French colleague, and together they navigate many a château, pausing frequently to enjoy the countrysides abundant pleasures.
The unraveling of the ingenious crime is threaded through with Mayles seductive rendering of Frances sensory delights, from a fine Lynch-Bages and Léoville Barton to the bouillabaisse of Marseille and the young lamb of Bordeaux. Even the most sophisticated of oenophiles will learn a thing or two from this vintage work by a beloved author.From the Hardcover edition.
An indispensable, richly informative, and always entertaining sourcebook on Provence by the writer who has made the region his own.
Though organized from A to Z, this is hardly a conventional work of reference. It is rather a selection of those aspects of Provence that Peter Mayle in almost twenty years there has found to be the most interesting, curious, delicious, or downright fun.
He writes about subjects as diverse as architecture, expatriates, scorpions, the Provençal character, legends, lavender, linguistic oddities, the origins of "La Marseillaise," wild boars and Frenchwinds. And, of course, he writes about food and drink.
Provence A-Z is a delight for Peter Mayle's ever-growing audience and these unabridged selections are the perfect complement to any guidebook on Provence, or, for that matter, France.
More than 40,000 listeners have enjoyed this story on cassette. Now anyone who's ever dreamed of getting away from it all can enjoy the charms and challenges of A Year in Provence on CD Peter Mayle and his wife had been to Provence as tourists. They had dreamed of one day trading the long, gray winters and damp summers of England for the blue skies and sunshine of the coast of southern France. And then they made it happen. They moved into an old farmhouse at the foot of the Luberon mountains and embarked on a wonderful, if at times bewildering, new life. Among their experiences that first year: being inundated with builders and visitors, grappling with the native accent, taking part in goat races and supervising the planting of a new vineyard. Peter Mayle personally recounts the pleasures and frustrations of Provençal life-sharing in a way no one else can, the unique and endearing culture that is Provence. A Year in Provence was a New York Times bestseller for three years and won the British Book Awards' "Best Travel Book of the Year."
From Peter Mayle, a wonderful new novel steeped in wine-and the business of wine?and set in, bien sûr, Provence.
Max Skinner is not exactly setting the London financial world on fire, and when his supervisor steals his biggest client, it's definitely time to inspect the vineyard in Provence that his recently departed uncle left him. Heartily and happily distracted upon his arrival by the landscape, the weather, and the food - not to mention the gorgeous notaire handling the estate and the stunning owner of the local bistro, Max almost forgets about his inherited property.
Which might have been a good idea, because the wine produced there is swill. But then why, Max has to wonder, is his caretaker so anxious to acquire the land? When a beautiful young woman from California arrives with what might be a legitimate claim on the estate, and knowledge of vineyards that far outstrips Max's own, the plot begins its twists and turns into and out of truly wonderful complications and resolutions.
This is luscious reading, soothing us with the sensual wonders of Provence while it tells a fascinating tale of the hugely lucrative and competitive boutique-wine trade. It is Peter Mayle's most satisfying, most delectable novel yet
