Frances Mayes is the author of four books about Tuscany. The now-classic Under the Tuscan Sun - which was a New York Times bestseller for more than two and a half years and became a Touchstone movie starring Diane Lane - was followed by Bella Tuscany and two illustrated books, In Tuscany and Bringing Tuscany Home. Mayes is also the author of the novel Swan, six books of poetry, The Discovery of Poetry and A Year in the World. She lives in Cortona, Italy, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lyrically written and beguiling... What makes it special is the sustained note of joy in it; joy in the beauty of the Tuscan countryside, the sights and sounds of daily life, the physical labour involved in the restoration of this 200-year-old villa and the five acres of land that go with it

Frances Mayes is the author of four books about Tuscany. The now-classic Under the Tuscan Sun - which was a New York Times bestseller for more than two and a half years and became a Touchstone movie starring Diane Lane - was followed by Bella Tuscany and two illustrated books, In Tuscany and Bringing Tuscany Home. Mayes is also the author of the novel Swan, six books of poetry, The Discovery of Poetry and A Year in the World. She lives in Cortona, Italy, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lyrically written and beguiling... What makes it special is the sustained note of joy in it; joy in the beauty of the Tuscan countryside, the sights and sounds of daily life, the physical labour involved in the restoration of this 200-year-old villa and the five acres of land that go with it

Frances Mayes is the author of four books about Tuscany. The now-classic Under the Tuscan Sun - which was a New York Times bestseller for more than two and a half years and became a Touchstone movie starring Diane Lane - was followed by Bella Tuscany and two illustrated books, In Tuscany and Bringing Tuscany Home. Mayes is also the author of the novel Swan, six books of poetry, The Discovery of Poetry and A Year in the World. She lives in Cortona, Italy, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lyrically written and beguiling... What makes it special is the sustained note of joy in it; joy in the beauty of the Tuscan countryside, the sights and sounds of daily life, the physical labour involved in the restoration of this 200-year-old villa and the five acres of land that go with it