Peter Mayle, a former British businessman, wrote the book “A Year in Provence”. When he gave up all the glitz of the business, he finally settled down with his beloved wife and two dogs in a 200-year old stone farmhouse in beautiful Luberon, Provence. He brushed aside the serious issues and opted for a comical approach about the nosiness of his neighbors who were self-proclaimed experts on geophysics, truffle hunting and the strong Provencal accent as he recounts all his adventures and struggles amidst French boundaries.“A Year in Provence” is a humorous and affectionate autobiography of Peter Mayle and his attempts to achieve his long cherished dream – to live in the pleasures of Provencal life. The book also features a cultural study of France’s southern section. It even has a travel guide for France and its delectable restaurants.
Bits and pieces of the food, traditions and cultural aspects of Southern France is also revealed as you get more engrossed on the author’s warm hearted and witty approach (especially on French bureaucracy and coping with the frosty Mistral of January). “A Year in Provence” also connoted survival strategies and indicated the growing camaraderie of Peter Mayle with his country neighbors.
Prior to this book, Peter Mayle worked in the advertising business for 15 years. He was a copywriter turned Executive.
He shifted to his writing talents and contributed to the “Independent Financial Times”, “London Sunday Times”, and “Esquire and Gentlemen’s Quarterly” in 1975.
Soon after,”A Year in Provence” was translated into 17 languages. It was also recognized as the “Best Travel Book of the Year” at the British Book Awards.
It draws readers to also long for the things Peter Mayle experienced in Luberon, Provence since “A Year in Provence” focuses on the geography, customs, social life and traditions of Southern France.
Luberon Massif (Luberon) consists of 3 mountain ranges found on France’s southern region. These mountain ranges include the Oriental Luberon, Big Luberon and Little Luberon. Between these mountain ranges are several villages, towns and an agricultural piece of land.
The number of its inhabitants depends on the season. Tourists flock the area during summer.
French High Societies, US nationals, and British visitors are very fond of Luberon. This is mainly because of its comfortable way of living along with its picturesque villages and towns. Luberon’s agricultural wealth, hiking trails, and cultural heritage together with its historical associations are also among the favorites of these foreign nationals.
“A Year in Provence” is paperback-bound and was published by Vintage Books. It has 224 pages and the illustrator is Judith Clancy. Its dimensions are 812 x 522 x 60 52.
“A Year in Provence” provides interesting facts about Southern France. An easy-to-follow guide to its scenic spots, places of interest and food can also be found.
The details provided by “A Year in Provence” are as accurate as how Peter Mayle perceives this wonderful place. Indeed, the book showcases how France can offer so much to those who desire to live a simple yet thrilling lifestyle.
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Through Peter Mayle’s description, Provence, France, is the Paradise lost in the earth. There are full of the lavender fields. Even the air there is full of the fragrance of lavender. And the picture of Provence in my heart is the clean one: the sky there is always blue which could match the lavender’s purple well—- though Peter Mayle had already told us that the seasons in Provence would bring different sometimes bad weather to us, in my opinion, the weather in this paradise should always be fine; the trees there are ever green, no matter the Autumn Goddess or the Winter Goddess could not take away its green coat. The weather there is the one like the spring or the early summer which I like best.
A walk placed in the valley of Provence could be more romantic than anywhere also in this world. I would love wearing a dress with the purple color which is similar to the lavender. And I would walk along the ridge of the lavender’s field. Wind is the singer along with me. Or I would like the wind to be the lover with me; he could tell me so many interesting stories about this romantic land. The love stories that happened in these lavender fields—- they must be as unforgettable and sweet. I would like to wear a semi-transparent rubber wristbands with me. I believe that this item could catch the sunlight, lavenders’ fragrance and the wind in Provence. When I come back home I could still smell the fresh and warm fragrance from the sun in Provence through my wristband.
I could be warm up by these memories. When the rain season in New York comes and we could not see the sun for couple of weeks, the best thing to do is watch the photos and be with everything from Provence which could recall the feeling in the sunlight of our bodies.