Frances Mayes

at home in Italy

Under the Tuscan sun

A lyrical and evocative collection of personal stories from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun, in which the queen of wanderlust reflects on the comforts of home. "A soulful meditation on 'what home means, how it hooks the past and pushes into the future' . . . spellbinding."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) Though Frances Mayes is known for her travels, she has always sought a sense of home wherever she goes. In this poetic testament to the power of place in our lives, Mayes reflects on the idea of home, from the earliest imprint of four walls to the startling discoveries of feeling the strange ease of homes abroad, friends' homes, and even momentary homes that spark desires for other lives. Her musings are all the more poignant after so many have spent their long pandemic months at home. From her travels across Italy--Tuscany, of course, but also Venice and Capri--to the American South, France, and Mexico, Mayes examines the connective tissue among them through the homes she's inhabited. A Place in the World explores Mayes's passion and obsessions with houses and the things that inhabit them--old books, rich food, beloved friends, transportive art. The indelible marks each refuge has left on her and how each home influenced the next serve as the foundations of its chapters. Written in Mayes's signature intimate style, A Place in the World captures the adventure of moving on while seeking comfort in the cornerstone closest to all of us--home.

Finding the Meaning of Home

A Place in the World

Kimberly Farr

Women in Sunlight

When a perfect wedding is called off just days before the big event, it sends two people—and their families—reeling, in this poignant novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun and Women in Sunlight A great marriage is an elusive thing, and only a few know the secret to making one. Dara Willcox, in New York for a weekend, meets Austin Clarke at an art gallery. If love at first sight can happen, it happens to them. These two vivid, ambitious people are on different courses—he’s British, working temporarily in New York. She’s from North Carolina, set on law school. They don’t care. They will make their lives together happen. At their April engagement dinner at Dara’s family home, her mother, Lee, sets a beautiful table, and the family and close friends gather to celebrate. Rich, Dara’s father, raises a toast. Suddenly, Lee spills the wine, a brilliant red stain splashing onto the tablecloth and onto Austin. Days later, Austin hears unsettling news from London that wrecks their plans. Dara abruptly cancels the wedding. She refuses to reveal the reason, not even to her best friends or her parents or grandmother, disrupting their family tradition of openness. As everyone knows, Lee and Rich have a great marriage, and Charlotte, her grandmother, had a colossal one, to the late Senator Mann. Charlotte literally wrote the book on the subject: She’s the author of international bestsellers on what makes a good or possibly a great marriage. While Dara escapes to California and Indigo Island, South Carolina, Austin, back in London, faces a major tragedy, the consequences of which are life-altering. But it’s Lee, Dara’s mother, whose impulsive visit to London alters their fate. With her signature warmth, humor, and incisive style, beloved author Frances Mayes creates a multigenerational probe into the complexity of love and the great mystery ride of marriage. A novel of casual choices and fateful consequences, A Great Marriage introduces two unforgettable families and the arrival of a stranger who rearranges their futures.

A Novel

A Great Marriage

Place in the World

Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites us back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food there and throughout Italy. "Happiness? The color of it must be spring green, impossible to describe until I see a just-hatched lizard sunning on a stone. That color, the glowing green lizard skin, repeats in every new leaf. The regenerative power of nature explodes in every weed, stalk, branch. Working in the mild sun, I feel the green fuse of my body, too. Surges of energy, kaleidoscopic sunlight through the leaves, the soft breeze that makes me want to say the word "zephyr"--this mindless simplicity can be called happiness. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona--and her beloved house, Bramasole--just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in herfamily life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy.

The Sweet Life in Italy

Bella Tuscany

Swan, Georgie

Un libro entrañable que nos recuerda los placeres de los cuales no debemos prescindir. Después de pasar algunos veranos en Italia y enamorarse de la región de la Toscana, una profesora y poeta norteamericana, decide dejarlo todo y comprar una casa en el campo. Empieza entonces una nueva vida para ella.

Bajo el sol de la Toscana 

تحت شمس توسكانا

Autora dos sucessos Sob o sol da Toscana – que virou filme com Diane Lane – e Bella Toscana, a norte-americana Frances Mayes apresenta agora Todos os dias na Toscana, novo relato de viagens e impressões cotidianas que adquiriu sobre si mesma e sobre o lugar que escolheu para viver. No novo livro, a autora realiza um mergulho nas raízes da região que a fascinou, mesclando a essas impressões memórias de infância e da vida na Califórnia, e discorre com uma prosa saborosa sobre as sensações que emergem de sua estada de mais de 20 anos na Itália.

Todos os Dias de Toscana

”Et hus i Toscana”, Frances Mayes’ bog om de første år i det gamle hus Bramasole uden for byen Cortona, blev en stor succes over hele verden. I ”Bella Toscana” fortsætter hun sin beretning om det søde liv i Italien, om menneskene, vinen, maden, naturen og kunsten. Hendes centrum er igen bjergbyen Cortona og Bramasole, der efter otte år stadig kræver store renoveringer, og haven der så småt begynder at ligne et paradis. Hun er også på udflugter til Sicilien, Venedig og rundt om Lago Trasimeno, og på vejen besøger hun både kirker og restauranter. Mad og vin er vigtige indslag i hverdagen. Frances Mayes indvier os desuden i et par af sine egne, lækre opskrifter. Vi oplever i glimt hendes tilværelse og familie i USA som en kontrast til det fredelige liv under Italiens sol med venner og håndværkere. ”Bella Toscana” udkom første gang på dansk i 2001. Frances Mayes er forfatteren bag klassikeren ”Et hus i Toscana”, som var på New York Times bestsellerliste i mere end to og et halvt år og blev til en film med Diane Lane i hovedrollen. Hendes andre internationale bestsellere inkluderer “Bella Toscana”, der også er oversat til dansk, samt “Every Day in Tuscany”, ”A Year in the World” og tre illustrerede bøger: “In Tuscany”, ”Bringing Tuscany Home” og ”The Tuscan Sun Cookbook”. Mayes er også forfatter til to romaner, ”Swan” og ”Women in Sunlight”, seks digtsamlinger samt ”The Discovery of Poetry”. Hendes seneste bøger er “See You in the Piazza” og “Always Italy”. Frances Mayes’ bøger er oversat til mere end 50 sprog.

Bella Toscana

A lyrical and evocative memoir from Frances Mayes, the Bard of Tuscany, about coming of age in the Deep South and the region’s powerful influence on her life. The author of three beloved books about her life in Italy, including Under the Tuscan Sun and Every Day in Tuscany, Frances Mayes revisits the turning points that defined her early years in Fitzgerald, Georgia. With her signature style and grace, Mayes explores the power of landscape, the idea of home, and the lasting force of a chaotic and loving family. From her years as a spirited, secretive child, through her university studies—a period of exquisite freedom that imbued her with a profound appreciation of friendship and a love of travel—to her escape to a new life in California, Mayes exuberantly recreates the intense relationships of her past, recounting the bitter and sweet stories of her complicated family: her beautiful yet fragile mother, Frankye; her unpredictable father, Garbert; Daddy Jack, whose life Garbert saved; grandmother Mother Mayes; and the family maid, Frances’s confidant Willie Bell. Under Magnolia is a searingly honest, humorous, and moving ode to family and place, and a thoughtful meditation on the ways they define us, or cause us to define ourselves. With acute sensory language, Mayes relishes the sweetness of the South, the smells and tastes at her family table, the fragrance of her hometown trees, and writes an unforgettable story of a girl whose perspicacity and dawning self-knowledge lead her out of the South and into the rest of the world, and then to a profound return home.

A Southern Memoir

Under Magnolia

By the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun, and written with Frances Mayes's trademark warmth, heart, and delicious descriptions of place, food, and friendship, Women in Sunlight is the story of four lives that change over the course of one exceptional year in Italy. The new novel from the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun tells the story of four American women who become unexpected friends when they move to a beautiful villa in Tuscany. She watches from her terrazza as the three American women carry their luggage into the stone villa down the hill. Who are they, and what brings them to this Tuscan village so far from home? Kit Raine, an American writer living in the small Italian town of San Rocco, is working on a biography of her close friend, the novelist Margaret Merrill. But her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women - Julia, Camille and Susan - all of whom have recently formed a friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. For Susan, the most fearless of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of a staid retirement in the States by taking on the lease of a big, beautiful house in Tuscany . . . Though novices in a foreign culture, their renewed sense of adventure imbues each of them with a bright sense of bravery, a spirited lust for life, and a fierce determination to thrive. With Kit's friendship and guidance, the three friends launch themselves into Italian life, pursuing passions long-forgotten - with drastic and unforeseeable results. 'As in Under the Tuscan Sun, Mayes's writing about Italy is the next best thing to a plane ticket' People 'Frances Mayes is back under the Tuscan sun, and the forecast for readers is bright ... she brings the magic of Tuscany to life once again in her new novel' USA Today 'The beloved Frances Mayes seems to own the Italian sun. Her first Italian-set novel is a lovely and intimate journey of friendship, loss, and hope set in the eternal beauty of Tuscan countryside' Adriana Trigiani

en Italia, como en casa

Bajo el sol de Toscana

" Lors de notre premier été ici, j'ai acheté un grand cahier à la couverture de papier florentin relié de cuir bleu. Sur la première page, j'ai écrit : ITALIE. Il semblait prêt à recevoir des vers intemporels, mais j'ai commencé .par y coucher des noms de fleurs sauvages, toutes sortes de projets, et du vocabulaire. J'y ai dépeint nos chambres, nos arbres et les cris des oiseaux. J'y ai copié des recommandations: "Planter les tournesols quand la lune entre dans la Balance", sans avoir aucune idée de la période concernée. J'ai décrit les gens que nous avons rencontrés, les plats que nous avons préparés. Ce cahier bleu s'appelle maintenant Sous le soleil de Toscane, il est l'expression naturelle de mes premiers plaisirs ici. Restaurer, puis arranger la maison; explorer les innombrables secrets de la Toscane et de l'Ombrie; mitonner dans une autre cuisine et découvrir les liens, nombreux, entre les plats et la culture - autant de joies intenses qu'irrigue le sentiment profond d'apprendre une autre vie. "

une maison en Italie

Sous le soleil de Toscane

THE DISCOVERY OF POETRY introduces the art and craft of poetry. From an early tribal orison on the rising sun to a recent freeway lyric just out of the word processor, poems always reveal the writer's concerns, feelings, and values. Starting with words and images, this book hopes to help the student understand the importance of word choice and image-making, building a foundation as he or she learns about rhythm, voice, and structure. Questions and writing prompts help facilitate class discussion and a deeper thinking about poetry. The last chapter, "A Poet's Handbook," breaks down the creative process of the poet from creating images to revision. THE DISCOVERY OF POETRY will help facilitate a deeper appreciation and understanding of poetry.

The Discovery of Poetry

The long-awaited memoir of her Southern childhood from the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun. the long-awaited memoir of her Southern childhood from the bestselling author of Under the tuscan Sun. Growing up, Frances Mayes longed to leave the small town of Fitzgerald, Georgia, but now she's been drawn back to explore her past ... Beautifully written and very intimate, this memoir evokes the Deep South in all its steamy warmth, fascinating characters and disturbing undercurrents. With her signature style and grace, Mayes delves deeply into her roots, the bitter and sweet stories of her complicated family, and Southern traditions and her connections to them. A lyrically written, searingly honest and affecting account of Mayes' rediscovery of her past. 'An exquisitely evoked journey into a Southern childhood and the getting of wisdom. Right up there with Under the tuscan Sun.' - Susan Duncan, author of Salvation Creek 'One of those books you want to devour but realize it's more satisfying to savor for as long as possible.'- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 'In her new southern memoir, Under Magnolia, Frances Mayes describes the birth of her extraordinary sensibility, the deep-pooled clarity of her writing, her giddy love of nature and her sharp and satirical eye for those who brought her up to honorable womanhood in the tortured South of her girlhood.' - Pat Conroy, author of the Prince of tides 'No other writer today breathes life into place like Frances Mayes. ... Under Magnolia is a love song, a rich and beautiful book.' - Ann Hood, author of the Knitting Circle and Comfort: A Journey through Grief

Frances Mayes' Tuscan Diary 2001

Frances Mayes started a journal the first summer she stayed in Italy, and it inspired her bestselling memoir, Under the Tuscan Sun. Now you can follow in Frances’s footsteps and record your own travel memories in this journal that captures the adventurous spirit of her books. With a jacket you can remove to reveal a beautifully patterned cover, a pocket for storing postcards and photos, and Frances’s quotes about the excitement and romance of travel throughout, this journal will inspire travelers to write about the pleasures of discovering the world—wherever you are in it.

Frances Mayes

About

Books

Join the club