shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Powell's Q&A, Q&A | December 10, 2009

Sam Stephenson: IMG Powell's Q&A: Sam Stephenson



Describe your latest book/project/work. I've been studying the life and work of photographer W. Eugene Smith for 13 years. My first book (Dream... Continue »
  1. $28.00 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

by Frances Mayes

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy Cover

ISBN13: 9780767900386
ISBN10: 0767900383
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 2 left in stock at $4.25!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.

Review:

"A poet, food-and-travel writer, Italophile and chair of the creative writing department at San Francisco State University, Mayes is a fine wordsmith and an exemplary companion whose delight in a brick floor she has just waxed is as contagious as her pleasure in the landscape, architecture and life of the village." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"[A]n unusual memoir of one woman's challenge to herself and its successful transformation into a satisfying opportunity to improve the quality of her life." Library Journal

Review:

"[A]rmchair travel at its most enticing. Can we really blame ourselves for wanting to strap Mayes down in some ratty armchair while we go live in her farmhouse?" Booklist

Review:

"This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy. loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it's so delicious, read it first yourself." USA Today

Review:

"An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'." The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"Irresistible...a sensous book for a sensous countryside." Minneapolis Star-Tribune

About the Author

Frances Mayes lives in Cortona, Italy and San Francisco, where she teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University.  A widely published poet as well as a prolific food and travel writer, she has written for the New York Times, House Beautiful, and Food and Wine.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Dina, August 19, 2006 (view all comments by Dina)
This is a great book that makes you feel like you are in Tuscany. The author describes the Tuscan landscape and her renovation of an Italian villa
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(9 of 17 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780767900386
Subtitle:
At Home in Italy
Author:
Mayes, Frances
Publisher:
Broadway Books
Location:
New York :
Subject:
Cookery, italian
Subject:
Italy
Subject:
Social life and customs
Subject:
Customs & Traditions
Subject:
Europe - Italy
Subject:
Essays & Travelogues
Subject:
Tuscany
Subject:
Tuscany (Italy) Description and travel.
Copyright:
Edition Description:
1st Broadway Books trade pbk. ed.
Series Volume:
no. 4053
Publication Date:
September 1997
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
7.94x5.30x.84 in. .55 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $17.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  2. $6.00 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Italian Days

    Barbara Gr Harrison
  3. $6.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    A Year in Provence

    Peter Mayle
  4. $12.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  5. $8.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  6. $9.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.