A Year in Provence is a 1989 bestselling

Bestseller

A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...

 autobiographical novel

Autobiographical novel

An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...

 by Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle is a British author famous for his series of books detailing life in Provence, France. He spent fifteen years in the advertising industry before leaving the business in 1975 to write educational books, including a series on sex education for children and young people...

 about his first year in Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

, and the local events and customs. It was adapted into a television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 miniseries

Miniseries

A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

 starring John Thaw

John Thaw

John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...

 and Lindsay Duncan

Lindsay Duncan

Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...

. Reviewers praised its honest style, wit and its refreshing humor. The book was turned into an equally popular radio version.

Plot

Peter Mayle and his wife move to Provence, and are soon met with unexpectedly fierce weather, underground truffle dealers and unruly workers, who work around their normalement schedule.

Miniseries

The book was turned into a mini-series, starring Lindsay Duncan and John Thaw, with appearances from Alfred Molina

Alfred Molina

Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...

 and James Fleet

James Fleet

James Edward Fleet is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the dim-witted Hugo Horton in the BBC situation comedy television series The Vicar of Dibley.-Personal life:Fleet...

 amongst others. See: "A Year in Provence" (1993)

See also

The non-fiction sequels to this book by Peter Mayle are:

• Toujours Provence 1991
• Encore Provence 1999
• French Lessons 2001

See also (a movie based on this novel and a fiction novel Chasing Cezanne also by Peter Mayle):

• A Good Year
  A Good Year
  A Good Year is a 2006 British romantic comedy film, set in London and Provence. It was directed by Ridley Scott, with an international cast including Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard, Didier Bourdon, Abbie Cornish and Albert Finney...
  
  2006

External links

• http://www.amazon.com/Year-Provence-John-Thaw/dp/B00005NKCN
• http://french.about.com/library/reviews/aafpr-yearinprovence.htm