For many, Peter Mayle’s best-selling novel A Year in Provence was their introduction to the Provencal countryside. Images of the Côte d’Azur have long covered the pages of travel magazines. Still, it was Mayle’s descriptions of bumbling through a home renovation in the arrière-pays (translation: backcountry or hinterland) that shifted our …

Josette’s Provence Published in September 2018, La Petite Josette en Provence is a beautifully illustrated children’s book based in Provence. The book is the result of a mother-daughter collaboration that took  3 and ½ years to complete. This children’s story is written primarily in English, but with plenty of French phrases …

Provencal Cuisine ‘Cuisine of the Sun, A Ray of Sunshine on Your Plate,’ the first cookbook by Chef François de Mélogue, wraps you in a culinary bear hug. The book is seductive, filled with beautiful photography that will make you hungry. Even if you just ate. You need to have …

Provence Reads for Children The pages of these books are geared towards sparking your imagination and desire to travel to Provence. Whether you are a kid, the authors have crafted stories with enough interest for adult readers. NOTE: Click on the book images to order your copy. Affiliate Statement: Please …

Writing a book is hard enough, but writing one with your spouse, well apparently that is a recipe for success. Death in Provence is Serena Kent’s first novel. The nom-de-plume is perfect for a couple who split time between the Luberon in Provence and Kent in the United Kingdom. After work …

Aixcentric is the name of Lynne Alderson’s blog, an online resource for anyone looking for current events in the Aix-en-Provence area. The blog was “born” out of Alderson’s frustration regarding discovering details about interesting happenings…just a little too late. Her second book “Art in the South of France, The Inside …

Hemingway aficionados should put these books together on your summer reading list for an inside look at the man behind the words & Paris in the 1920s I’ve started to make my university students read a few Hemingway short stories each quarter as a means of teaching them how to …

Almost 30 years ago, Peter Mayle introduced many of us to the arrière-pays Provençal (rural countryside) for the first time with his internationally best-selling novel A Year in Provence.  The success of that book and his subsequent novels had many primed to book flights to the South of France. If …

Books for Food Lovers Georgeanne Brennan’s CV of accomplishments in culinary and literary circles is awe-inspiring. This talented lady has written and co-authored over 30 books. She won the prestigious James Beard Award (Best International Cookbook) in 1998 for The Food and Flavors of Haute Provence. Her articles have appeared …

While reading Gayle Smith Padgett’s book, Passion for Provence, 22 Keys to La Belle Vie, I kept thinking this lady is someone you would enjoy getting to know in person. The book (her first) is just over 260 pages long, after each of the 22 chapters she shares her “key” …