New Book by Patricia Sands “Families come in all shapes and sizes.” This phrase, spoken by one the women in Patricia Sands’ new novella, is a good summary of what this lovely book is about. And what families they are!—united by love, friendship, and sometimes even biology. Sands shows us …

Local Author and Guide Jean-Pierre Cassely is a recognizable public figure in Provence and beyond. Cassely worked for France 3 television for a decade and currently has a daily France-Bleu Provence radio slot called Provence Insolite (Unusual Provence). More recently, Jean-Pierre Cassely collected curious landmarks in two guidebooks Secret Provence and …

Accomplished Author In 2011, Susan Kiernan-Lewis published a book entitled “How to Succeed as an Indie Author,” which, for some reason, is no longer available on the market. She then followed her advice and today has become one of the most prolific Indie authors in the US. The numbers speak …

After all the December festivities, the holidays are a great time to disconnect from your e-devices and read. Whether you are searching for a gift or looking for a good book for yourself, these are some of our picks Holiday Reading List from Provence. Holidays Reads from Provence Discover the …

A House with Personality The Riviera Set: Glitz, Glamour, and the Hidden World of High Society is the latest book by author Mary S. Lovell, a biography about the rich, or famous, who spent time on the French Riviera from the 1920s to 1960. Many of these people gathered at …

What is the Mistral Wind? Most of us who have lived or even visited Provence have experienced the mistral, that riotous and mysterious wind that blows down the Rhône Valley, usually without warning. Think back to the opening scene of the movie “Chocolat,” watching the wind move the mother and …

“I was born in the town of Aubagne, under the Garlaban crowned with goats, in the days of the last goatherds.” Writer Marcel Pagnol So begins the memoir of Marcel Pagnol, the master storyteller of Provence. If you ask someone which author comes to mind when they think of Provence, …

I love Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense novels: their sense of adventure and intriguing storylines, their strong-willed heroines, and most of all, their transporting settings. Her first, published in 1955, was Madam, Will You Talk?. Book Review The narrative takes place around 1950, in a hot, dusty Provence where Roman ruins …

Literary Escapism Sometimes you need an escapism book, and sometimes you need to escape. Author Ruth Kelly delivers both in her book The Little Vineyard in Provence, published in 2019. This novel is Ruth Kelly’s first book under her signature. However, she has ghostwritten several bestselling books. As a freelance …

The following is a chapter on the stone Bories of Provence is adapted from Mary-Lou Weisman’s book, Playing House in Provence: How Two Americans Became a Little Bit French. The Weismans arrived in Provence in September 2003 for the first of many visits to the South of France. The couple …