Frances Mayes

The author details her travels to Spain, Portugal, France, Britain, Turkey, Greece, southern Italy, and North Africa, interweaving personal insights with commentary on art, history, landscape, culture, and tradition.

Journeys of a Passionate Traveller

A Year in the World

A Novel

Women in Sunlight

The author explores life in the idyllic Italian countryside, offering authentic Tuscan recipes and intimately portraying the local people and the environment

The Sweet Life in Italy

Bella Tuscany

The best-selling author of Under the Tuscan Sun shares the story of her youth in the American South and her decision to return to the places that shaped her early ideals, a journey marked by her regional travels and growing appreciation for Southern writers. 80,000 first printing.

A Southern Memoir

Under Magnolia

Bestselling and beloved author Frances Mayes discovers the hidden pleasures of Italy in a sumptuous travel narrative that crisscrosses the country, with inventive new recipes celebrating Italian cuisine The Roman Forum, the Leaning Tower, the Piazza San Marco: these are the sights synonymous with Italy. But such landmarks only scratch the surface of this magical country's offerings. In See You in the Piazza, Frances Mayes introduces us to the Italy only the locals know, as she and her husband, Ed, eat and drink their way through thirteen regions--from Friuli to Sicily. Along the way, she seeks out the cultural and historic gems not found in traditional guidebooks. Frances conjures the enchantment of the backstreets, the hubbub of the markets, the dreamlike wonder of that space between lunch and dinner when a city cracks open to those who would wander or when a mind is drawn into the pages of a delicious book--and discloses to us the secrets that only someone who is on intimate terms with a place could find.

New Places to Discover in Italy

See You in the Piazza

The author of Under the Tuscan Sun shares her passion for poetry in an intriguing handbook that takes readers inside the art of reading and writing poems, discussing basic terminology and writing techniques that range from texture and sound to rhyme and repetition, accompanied by a thought-provoking selection of poems that demonstrate the art of poetry. Original. 25,000 first printing.

A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems

The Discovery of Poetry

Twenty years ago, Frances Mayes - widely published poet, gourmet cook and travel writer - introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned villa called Bramasole in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. With glorious descriptions of the vibrant local markets, food, wine and the Italian landscape, Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys - whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savouring one of the book's dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes' signature evocative, sensory language. Now, with a new afterword from the Bard of Tuscany herself, the 20th anniversary edition of this timeless classic and international bestseller brings us up-to-date with the book's most beloved characters.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Bob Krist

Edward Kleinschmidt Mayes

Text and photographs celebrate Tuscany's feasts, festivals, food, wine, people, and culture.

In Tuscany

A recipe-complemented work continues the author's tribute to the region of Tuscany and its people, tracing the course of a year during which she renovated a thirteenth-century house in the mountains above Cortona.

Seasons of an Italian Life

Every Day in Tuscany

u siebie we Włoszech

Pod słońcem Toskanii

Twenty years ago Frances Mayes, having ended a long marriage and begun a new relationship, was travelling in Italy and happened upon an abandoned, grand but dilapidated three-storey house called 'Bramasole' just outside the Tuscan hillside of Cortona. Mayes fell immediately in love with the house and eventually bought it and began a long and arduous restoration of it. The process of making Bramasole her home - and simultaneously of establishing a new life (and a new outlook on life) in Italy - were the subjects of her bestselling memoirs UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN and BELLA TUSCANY. In the decade since BELLA TUSCANY was published, Mayes has gone from being a proud resident of Cortona to one of its most esteemed citizens as well as Tuscany's literary doyenne. Her books are endlessly devoured and discussed by book groups, her speaking engagements and readings are mobbed, and Bramasole's gates receive daily visits from fans from around the world. In this new memoir Mayes offers her readers another deeply personal account of her present-day life in Tuscany, encompassing both the changes she has experienced since UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN and BELLA TUSCANY appeared, and sensuous, evocative reflections on the timeless, unchanging beauty and simple pleasures of Italian life. Among the themes Mayes examines are how her life in the mountains introduced her to a 'wilder' side of Tuscany and with it a new scale of engagement among Tuscany's mountain people. Throughout she thoughtfully muses on the many concerete joys of building an Italian life: Tuscan icons that connect with her life and have become for her storehouses of memory; crucible moments from which bigger ideas have emerged; how a significant part of her adjustment to Italian metabolism has awakened her to the possibilities in spontaneity and trust in instinc t; and reflections on the writing life she has enjoyed in the room where UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN began and on the wider view she's gained since then.

When the body of her mother, a suicide nineteen years earlier, is mysteriously exhumed, Ginger Mason returns to her small Georgia hometown and is reunited with her reclusive brother as dark secrets about their family begin to surface.

Swan

Together in one set, here are paperback editions of Mayes bestselling books about life in the glorious hills of rural Italy.

Under the Tuscan Sun/Bella Tuscany

Ondine Cohane

The world's favorite expert on la dolce vita (Under the Tuscan Sun author) guides readers through Italy's iconic regions, replete with lavish National Geographic images. This lush guide, featuring more than 350 glorious photographs from National Geographic, showcases the best Italy has to offer from the perspective of two women who have spent their lives reveling in its unique joys. In these illuminating pages, Frances Mayes, the author of Under the Tuscan Sun and many other bestsellers, and New York Times travel writer Ondine Cohane reveal an Italy that only the locals know, filled with top destinations and unforgettable travel experiences in every region. From the colorful coastline of Cinque Terre and the quiet ports of the Aeolian Islands to the Renaissance architecture of Florence and the best pizza in Rome, every section features insider secrets and off-the-beaten-path recommendations (for example, a little restaurant in Piedmont known for its tajarin, a pasta that is the perfect bed for the region's celebrated truffles). Here are the best places to stay, eat, and tour, paired with the rich history of each city, hillside town, and unique terrain. Along the way, you'll make stops at the country's hidden gems--art galleries, local restaurants, little-known hiking trails, spas, and premier spots for R&R. Inspiring and utterly unique, this vivid treasury is a must-have for anyone who wants to experience the best of Italy.

Frances Mayes Always Italy

Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. 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 her family 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. Now with an excerpt from Frances Mayes's latest southern memoir, Under Magnolia.

In ‘Elke dag in Toscane’ vertelt New York Times-bestsellerauteur Frances Mayes over het dagelijkse leven in haar geliefde Toscane. Inmiddels woont ze er al twintig jaar en blikt ze terug op haar leven in Italië, terwijl ze samen met haar man de laatste hand legt aan de grote renovatie van hun droomhuis. Als part-time bewoner en kenner van Italië geeft Mayes inzicht in de complexe samenleving, belangrijke personen en artiesten in Toscane, en introduceert uiteraard de meest hemelse recepten. Ontdek het alledaagse leven door de ogen van de Frances Mayes, uitgeroepen tot "bard van Toscane" door de New York Times. De Amerikaanse Frances Mayes (1940) schrijft romans, gedichten en geprezen memoires over haar leven in Italië. Haar bekendste werk is ‘Een huis in Toscane’, waarin ze haar ontmoeting met de Italiaanse cultuur, de culinaire hoogstandjes en het betoverende landschap beschrijft. Het stond maar liefst twee jaar lang op de New York Times-bestsellerlijst en werd verfilmd met als titel ‘Under the Tuscan sun’, met Diane Lane in de hoofdrol. Andere bekende werken van Mayes zijn de memoires ‘Bella Toscane’, ‘Elke dag in Toscane’ en de roman ‘Het geheim van Swan’. Met haar schrijftalent en passie voor reizen en koken waant de lezer zich ogenblikkelijk in het idyllische Italië. Mayes en haar man wonen gedeeltelijk in North Carolina en in Cortona, Italië, waar ze artistiek directeur is van het Tuscan Sun Festival.

Elke dag in Toscane

Geniet van de kleine dingen die het leven te bieden heeft, beschreven door niemand minder dan bestsellerauteur Frances Mayes. In ‘Een jaar in de wereld’ laat ze haar vertrouwde Toscane achter en gaat ze op reis. Twaalf hoofdstukken en twaalf locaties, van het mediterrane Spanje en Portugal, tot aan Groot-Brittannië,Turkije en Noord-Afrika. Met haar grote interesse voor lokale culturen, vertelt ze vol passie over de geschiedenis, kunst en de culinaire hoogstandjes van de regio’s die ze bezoekt. Ga mee op reis en laat je onderdompelen in het bruisende reisverhaal van de geliefde Mayes. De Amerikaanse Frances Mayes (1940) schrijft romans, gedichten en geprezen memoires over haar leven in Italië. Haar bekendste werk is ‘Een huis in Toscane’, waarin ze haar ontmoeting met de Italiaanse cultuur, de culinaire hoogstandjes en het betoverende landschap beschrijft. Het stond maar liefst twee jaar lang op de New York Times-bestsellerlijst en werd verfilmd met als titel ‘Under the Tuscan sun’, met Diane Lane in de hoofdrol. Andere bekende werken van Mayes zijn de memoires ‘Bella Toscane’, ‘Elke dag in Toscane’ en de roman ‘Het geheim van Swan’. Met haar schrijftalent en passie voor reizen en koken waant de lezer zich ogenblikkelijk in het idyllische Italië. Mayes en haar man wonen gedeeltelijk in North Carolina en in Cortona, Italië, waar ze artistiek directeur is van het Tuscan Sun Festival.

Een jaar in de wereld

A lavishly illustrated ode to the joys of Tuscany’s people, food, landscapes, and art, from the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun and See You in the Piazza “A love letter to Italy written in precise and passionate language of near-poetic density.”—Newsday In Tuscany celebrates the abundant pleasures of life in Italy as it is lived at home, at festivals, feasts, restaurants and markets, in the kitchen and on the piazza, in the vineyards, fields, and olive groves. Combining essays by Frances Mayes and a chapter by her husband, poet Edward Mayes, with more than 200 full-color photos by photographer Bob Krist, each of this book's five sections highlights a signature aspect of Tuscan life: La Piazza: the locus of Italian village life. With photographs of the shop signs, the outdoor markets, medieval streets, people, their pets and their cars, and snippets of conversations overheard, Mayes reveals the life of the Piazza in her town of Cortona as well as out-of-the-way places such as Volterra, Asciano, Monte San Savino, and Castelmuzio. La Festa: the celebration. Essays and photos of feasts and celebrations, such as the Christmas dinner for twenty-seven at a neighbor's house and a donkey race around the church at Montepulciano Stazione, illustrate how the Tuscans celebrate the seasons--their open ways of friendship, their connection to nature, and most of all, their sense of abundance. Il Campo: the field. Here Edward Mayes evokes the deep sense of the shift of seasons as he picks olives before he and Frances head off to the olive oil mill and enjoy the first bruscette with new oil. La Cucina: the kitchen. An intimate view of the all-important role of the kitchen in Tuscan culture, including photographs of her own kitchen and gardens, menus from great local cooks, the elements of the Tuscan table, dishes with cultural and culinary notes on each, and, of course, delectable recipes. La Bellezza: the beauty. From the quality of the light falling on sublime landscapes in different seasons and Tuscan faces in moments of laughter to a silhouette of cypress trees in the early evening and a wild bird perched on a neigbor's head, In Tuscany features views of beauty that reveal the singular splendor of one of the world's best-loved and most artistic regions.

Laat je verrassen door New York Times-bestsellerauteur Frances Mayes in haar eerste roman ‘Het geheim van Swan’. Mayes is vooral bekend van haar idyllische boeken over het Toscaanse leven, zoals ‘Een huis in Toscane’ en ‘Bella Toscane’. In haar meeslepende debuutroman krijgt archeoloog Ginger Mason een telefoontje dat haar leven voorgoed verandert. Het lichaam van haar overleden moeder is om mysterieuze redenen opgegraven. Halsoverkop vertrekt ze naar haar geboorteplaatsje Swan, waar ze samen met haar broer de ware oorzaak van haar moeders dood probeert te achterhalen. Welke verborgen familiegeheimen komen nog meer aan het licht? De Amerikaanse Frances Mayes (1940) schrijft romans, gedichten en geprezen memoires over haar leven in Italië. Haar bekendste werk is ‘Een huis in Toscane’, waarin ze haar ontmoeting met de Italiaanse cultuur, de culinaire hoogstandjes en het betoverende landschap beschrijft. Het stond maar liefst twee jaar lang op de New York Times-bestsellerlijst en werd verfilmd met als titel ‘Under the Tuscan sun’, met Diane Lane in de hoofdrol. Andere bekende werken van Mayes zijn de memoires ‘Bella Toscane’, ‘Elke dag in Toscane’ en de roman ‘Het geheim van Swan’. Met haar schrijftalent en passie voor reizen en koken waant de lezer zich ogenblikkelijk in het idyllische Italië. Mayes en haar man wonen gedeeltelijk in North Carolina en in Cortona, Italië, waar ze artistiek directeur is van het Tuscan Sun Festival.

Het geheim van Swan

Twenty years ago Frances Mayes, having ended a long marriage and begun a new relationship, was travelling in Italy and happened upon an abandoned, grand but dilapidated three-storey house called 'Bramasole' just outside the Tuscan hillside of Cortona. Mayes fell immediately in love with the house and eventually bought it and began a long and arduous restoration of it. The process of making Bramasole her home - and simultaneously of establishing a new life (and a new outlook on life) in Italy - were the subjects of her bestselling memoirs Under the Tuscan Sunand Bella Tuscany. In the decade since Bella Tuscanywas published, Mayes has gone from being a proud resident of Cortona to one of its most esteemed citizens as well as Tuscany's literary doyenne. Her books are endlessly devoured and discussed by book groups, her speaking engagements and readings are mobbed, and Bramasole's gates receive daily visits from fans from around the world. In this new memoir Mayes offers her readers another deeply personal account of her present-day life in Tuscany, encompassing both the changes she has experienced since Under the Tuscan Sunand Bella Tuscanyappeared, and sensuous, evocative reflections on the timeless, unchanging beauty and simple pleasures of Italian life. Among the themes Mayes examines are how her life in the mountains introduced her to a 'wilder' side of Tuscany and with it a new scale of engagement among Tuscany's mountain people. Throughout she thoughtfully muses on the many concerete joys of building an Italian life- Tuscan icons that connect with her life and have become for her storehouses of memory; crucible moments from which bigger ideas have emerged; how a significant part of her adjustment to Italian metabolism has awakened her to the possibilities in spontaneity and trust in instinc t; and reflections on the writing life she has enjoyed in the room where Under the Tuscan Sunbegan and on the wider view she's gained since then.

Frances Mayes

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