A Year in Provence

Across the twelve months of his first year in Provence, Peter Mayle records life after he and his wife, with their two large dogs, settled in a stone farmhouse, two centuries old, in the remote Luberon. The chapters follow the months, with the January mistral howling down the Rhone Valley and long meals in local restaurants. Along the way the couple contend with fierce weather, unruly builders who keep their own schedule, the local accent and underground truffle dealers, and Mayle discovers boules and goat racing through the middle of town. The couple's work on the house, garden and vineyard also features. The memoir became a best seller and was adapted for BBC television with John Thaw and Lindsay Duncan.

Serial entrepreneur and investor Fabrice Grinda included it among the books he recommends beyond his own field.