Encore Provence

Peter Mayle is back in Provence, after pining away in America for the sights, sounds and smells of his beloved French home. This new book completes his trilogy on the delights and curiosities of Provencal life, as he rediscovers the local customs and "cuisine" and finds them as enchanting as ever. There are, of course, some gastronomic treats to be had on the way, including a feast at a converted petrol station and a rendezvous with the famous "Marseillaise bouillabaisse". But when lunch is over there are still more moments to relish : learning the secrets of perfume-blending at a school for "noses", the story of a "crime passionnel" perpetrated by a jealous husband on an oversexed, cycling-short wearing butcher, a connoisseur of funerals, a grower of black tomatoes, and the simple pleasure of finding the best way to idle away a lazy summer afternoon