This bestselling classic explains the facts of life to young children in an age-appropriate and straightforward manner, accompanied by lively illustrations.

Enjoy an irresistible feast of humour and discover the joys of French rural living with Peter Mayle's bestselling, much-loved account of A Year In Provence.

Peter Mayle and his wife did what most of us only imagine doing when they made their long-cherished dream of a life abroad a reality: throwing caution to the wind, they bought a glorious two hundred year old farmhouse in the Lubéron Valley and began a new life. In a year that begins with a marathon lunch and continues with a host of gastronomic delights, they also survive the unexpected and often hilarious curiosities of rural life. From mastering the local accent and enduring invasion by bumbling builders, to discovering the finer points of boules and goat-racing, all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life are conjured up in this enchanting portrait.

They had been there often as tourists. They had cherished the dream of someday living all year under the Provencal sun. And suddenly it happened.

Here is the month-by-month account of the charms and frustrations that Peter Mayle and his wife -- and their two large dogs -- experience their first year in the remote country of the Luberon restoring a two-centuries-old stone farmhouse that they bought on sight. From coping in January with the first mistral, which comes howling down from the Rhone Valley and wreaks havoc with the pipes, to dealing as the months go by with the disarming promises and procrastination of the local masons and plumbers, Peter Mayle delights us with his strategies for survival. He relishes the growing camaraderie with his country neighbors -- despite the rich, soupy, often impenetrable patois that threatens to separate them. He makes friends with boar hunters and truffle hunters, a man who eats foxes, and another who bites dentists; he discovers the secrets of handicapping racing goats and of disarming vipers. And he comes to dread the onslaught of tourists who disrupt his tranquillity.

In this often hilarious, seductive book Peter Mayle manages to transport us info all the earthy pleasures of Provencal life and lets us live vicariously in a tempo governed by seasons, not by days. George Lang, who was smitten, suggests: "Get a glass of marc, lean back in your most comfortable chair, and spend a delicious year in Provence."

Max Skinner is a man at the heart of London's financial universe until his employers embark on a little asset-stripping of their own. Himself. Amid the grey London drizzle, there is one potential ray of sunshine: Max's Uncle Harry has left him his estate in his will - an eighteenth-century chateau and vineyard an hour's drive from Avignon. Out of a job, and encouraged by his friend Charlie about the money in modern wine, he heads for France. What Max discovers is a beautiful house, wonderful weather and a bustling village. The downside is the quality of the wine in his vineyard, but when Max suggests calling in an expert, Roussel, a former employee of his uncle's, is resistant. Help is at hand, however, when a beautiful blonde Californian arrives unexpectedly at the chateau. Peter Mayle's delightful novel will enchant the audiences who bought A YEAR IN PROVENCE and TOUJOURS PROVENCE in their millions.

The writer with a claim to being the world' s foremost literary escape artist is back, with an intoxicating novel about the business and pleasure of wine, set in his beloved Provence.
Max Skinner has recently lost his job at a London financial firm and just as recently learned that he has inherited his late uncle' s vineyard in Provence. On arrival he finds the climate delicious, the food even better, and two of the locals ravishing. Unfortunately, the wine produced on his new property is swill. Why then are so many people interested in it? Enter a beguiling Californian who knows more about wine than Max does- and may have a better claim to the estate. Fizzy with intrigue, bursting with local color and savor, A Good Year is Mayle at his most entertaining.

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 fetes 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, Provencal style.

"From the Hardcover edition."

Discusses the mental and physical changes that take place during puberty.

A second enjoyable helping of rural life in France from the author of A Year in Provence

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.

Gastronomy is a wonderful starting point to study France and the French. As the retired schoolmaster from Provence says 'The religion of France is food. And wine, of course.' And they put their money where their mouth is, spending a greater proportion of their income on food and drink than any other nation in the world. Literally hundreds of gastronomic fairs and festivals take place throughout the year all over France - a frog fair, an hommage to the sausage, to the turnip, to the quiche and the noble Camembert. What kind of person is a snail-fancier? Is there a brotherhood of sausage connoisseurs? How can you devote an entire weekend to the French fry? Peter Mayle finds out and brings hilariously and affectionately to life the people who can get passionate about a frog's leg or a well-turned omelette. Over ten years ago he transformed our feelings about Provence, now he captures the irresistible essence of France herself - and her food.

Sam's last adventure sent him to France in search of a missing wine collection, but he thought it'd be a while before he was back, especially with the charms of the fiery Elena Morales to keep him settled in Los Angeles. But when the immensely wealthy Francis Reboul asks him to take a job in Marseille, it's impossible for Sam and Elena to resist. The lure of further excitement and the pleasures of the region beckon them back to France.

From Hollywood to Marseille with delicious stops in between, Peter Mayle's latest novel is filled with the culinary delights and entertaining characters that make him our treasured chronicler of French food and life.
The story begins high above Los Angeles at the impressive wine cellar of 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 lawyer and wine connoisseur, who follows leads to Bordeaux and Provence. The unraveling of the ingenious crime is threaded through with Mayle's seductive rendering of France's sensory delights--even the most sophisticated of oenophiles will learn a thing or two from this vintage work by a beloved author.

Not yet noon, and the temperature is in the mid-eighties and rising. Summer has set in. Fresh figs for breakfast, warm from the sun. Dogs asleep in the shade. When bestselling photographer Rachael Hale McKenna embarked on a new life in France, it was inevitable that she would turn her talents to capturing the beauty of the world around her. Evoking a gentle change of pace, Rachael’s imagery immerses us in French daily life: The scenery and unique light that inspired a generation of artists; The ancient villages and fortified towns; The beaches of the glittering Cote d’Azur that draw crowds of tourists; The taste of fresh Mediterranean-inspired cuisine that bursts like summer in the mouth, washed down with a pale and blushing rose.

The bestsellling author of A Year in Provence and Hotel Pastis now surveys his territory from a differnt vantage point: the all-fours perspective of his dog, Boy--"a dog whose personality is made up of equal parts Boswell and Dr. Johnson, Mencken and A. A. Milne" (Chicago Sun-Times). Enhanced by 59 splendidly whimsical drawings by Edward Koren.

Peter Mayle is back in Provence, after pining away in America for the sights, sounds and smells of his beloved French home. This new book completes his trilogy on the delights and curiosities of Provençal life, as he rediscovers the local customs and cuisine and finds them as enchanting as ever.

There are, of course, some gastronomic treats to be had on the way, including a feast at a converted petrol station and a rendezvous with the famous Marseillaise bouillabaisse. But when lunch is over there are still more moments to relish: learning the secrets of perfume-blending at a school for 'noses', the story of a crime passionnel perpetrated by a jealous husband on an oversexed, cycling-short wearing butcher, a connoisseur of funerals, a grower of black tomatoes, and the simple pleasure of finding the best way to idle away a lazy summer afternoon ...

From Hollywood to Marseille with delicious stops in between, Peter Mayle's latest novel is filled with the culinary delights and entertaining characters that make him our treasured chronicler of French food and life.
The story begins high above Los Angeles at the impressive wine cellar of 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 lawyer and wine connoisseur, who follows leads to Bordeaux and Provence. The unraveling of the ingenious crime is threaded through with Mayle's seductive rendering of France's sensory delights--even the most sophisticated of oenophiles will learn a thing or two from this vintage work by a beloved author.