Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle (1939–2018) was a British writer closely associated with Provence, the region in southern France where he lived from 1987. The Bibliothèque nationale de France authority record identifies him as an English-language author of books for children and of writing about Provence; it records his birth in Brighton on 14 June 1939 and his death in Ménerbes on 18 January 2018.

After nearly fifteen years in advertising, Mayle turned to writing. His early output included factual guides for children and adults, followed by children’s stories. His defining popular success was A Year in Provence, a humorous, season-by-season account of settling with his wife Jennie in a Luberon farmhouse and encountering local life, food, weather, and the practical challenges of renovation. The book led to further Provence-centred writing, while his wider work also included standalone novels and detective fiction featuring Sam Levitt.

Mayle’s writing gave many English-language readers a literary entry point to everyday Provençal culture. In 1995, A Year in Provence received the Prix des libraires du Québec in the Roman hors Québec category. He was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 2002 for services to French culture. His official website preserves a selection of his books and his 2016 reflection on more than two decades in Provence.