Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle (born 14 June 1939) is a British author famous for his series of books detailing life in Provence, France.

Early life

Born in Brighton, historically in Sussex, the youngest of three children, Mayle and his family moved to Barbados after the war, where his father was transferred as a Foreign Office employee. Peter returned to England after leaving school at 16.

Advertising career

His first job in 1957 was as a trainee at Shell Oil, based in their London office. It was there that he discovered that he was more interested in advertising than oil and he wrote to David Ogilvy, the head of the advertising agency that had the Shell account at that time, asking for a job. Ogilvy offered him a job as a junior account executive but Mayle's interest was more on the creative side of the business and he subsequently became a copywriter in 1961 based in their New York office. In due course another agency, Papert Koenig, Lois, poached him from Ogilvy and sent him back to London to head up the creative team in their UK office, where one of his colleagues was Alan Parker. When the US parent hit trouble in the mid-60s he and a colleague bought the London operation. They developed the business with accounts that included Watneys, Olivetti and Sony and after five years, they were bought by BBDO, one of the top American agencies. He then commuted between the US and the UK as their creative director. By 1974 he had had enough of advertising and transatlantic commuting and quit the business to write full-time.

The author

He started off by writing educational books, including a series on sex education for children and young people. Subsequently he relocated from Devon to France in the late 80s but his plans to write a novel were overtaken by an account of life in his new environment. This resulted in his 1989 book A Year in Provence which became an international bestseller, chronicling his first year as a British expatriate in Ménerbes, a village in the southern département Vaucluse. Several more books followed, which have been translated in more than twenty languages. He also wrote for magazines and newspapers. A Year in Provence was subsequently produced as a TV series starring John Thaw and screened in 1993. A novel A Good Year was the basis for the 2006 film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott and starring actors Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard.

After relocating to The Hamptons in New York state, to get away from fans and sightseers at his home in Provence,^[2] he subsequently returned to France and now lives in Vaugines, also situated in the Luberon, in Provence.

Awards

British Book Awards named A Year in Provence Best Travel Book of the Year (1989)^[1] and him Author of the Year (1992). The French government made him a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor) in 2002, for coopération et francophonie.^[3]

Bibliography

Source:^[1]

• Where Did I Come From? The Facts of Life without Any Nonsense and with Illustrations, illustrated by Arthur Robins and Paul Walter, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1973.
• What's Happening to Me? The Answers to Some of the World's Most Embarrassing Questions, illustrated by Arthur Robins and Paul Walter, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1975.
• Will I Go to Heaven?, Corwin, 1976.
• "Will I Like It?" Your First Sexual Experience, What to Expect, What to Avoid, and How Both of You Can Get the Most out of It, photographs by John Thornton, Corwin, 1977.
• How to Be a Pregnant Father: An Illustrated Survival Guide for the First-time Father, illustrated by Arthur Robins, Lyle Stuart, Inc. (Secaucus, NJ), 1977.
• Baby Taming, illustrated by Arthur Robins, Crown (New York, NY), 1978.
• (With Paul Rice) As Dead as a Dodo, illustrated by Shawn Rice, David Godine (Boston, MA), 1981.
• (With Arthur Robins) Congratulations! You're Not Pregnant: An Illustrated Guide to Birth Control, Macmillan Publishers (New York, NY), 1981.
• (With Arthur Robins) Grown-ups and Other Problems: Help for Small People in a Big World, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1982.
• The Honeymoon Book, illustrated by Gray Jolliffe, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 1983.
• Chilly Billy, illustrated by Arthur Robins, Crown (New York, NY), 1983.
• Man's Best Friend: Introducing Wicked Willie in the Title Role, illustrated by Gray Jolliffe, Crown (New York, NY), 1984.
• Anything but Rover--the Art and Science of Naming Your Dog: A Breed by Breed Guide, Including Mongrels, illustrated by Arthur Robins, A. Barker, 1985.
• Sweet Dreams and Monsters: A Beginner's Guide to Dreams and Nightmares and Things That Go Bump under the Bed, illustrated by Arthur Robins, Crown (New York, NY), 1986.
• Wicked Willie's Guide to Women: A Worm's-Eye View of the Fair Sex, illustrated by Gray Jolliffe, Pan Books (London, England), 1986, Crown (New York, NY), 1987.
• Wicked Willie's Guide to Women: The Further Adventures of Man's Best Friend, illustrated by Gray Jolliffe, Crown (New York, NY), 1988.
• A Year in Provence, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1989, published with illustrations by Judith Clancy, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 1990.
• Divorce Can Happen to the Nicest People, illustrated by Arthur Robins, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1979, revised edition published as Why Are We Getting a Divorce?, Crown (New York, NY), 1988.
• (With Raffaella Fletcher) Dangerous Candy: A True Drug Story by Someone Who Did Them and Kicked Them, Sinclair-Stevenson (London, England), 1990, published as Dangerous Candy: A True Story about Drug Addiction, Trafalgar Square Publishing (Pomfret, Vermont), 1991.
• Toujours Provence, Knopf (New York, NY), 1991.
• Acquired Tastes: A Beginner's Guide to Serious Pleasures, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1992.
• Up the Agency: The Funny Business of Advertising, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1993.
• Hotel Pastis: A Novel of Provence, Knopf (New York, NY), 1993.
• Provence, photographs by Jason Hawkes, Random House (New York, NY), 1994.
• A Dog's Life, with Ed Koren, Knopf (New York, NY), 1995.
• Anything Considered, Knopf (New York, NY), 1996.
• Chasing Cézanne, Knopf (New York, NY), 1997.
• Where Did I Come From? The Facts of Life without Any Nonsense and with Illustrations, illustrated by Arthur Robins and Paul Walter; African-American edition published with illustrations adapted by Zina Saunders, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1999.
• Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France, Knopf (New York, NY), 1999.
• French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew, Knopf (New York, NY), 2001.
• A Good Year, Knopf (New York, NY), 2004.
• (With Gerard Auzet) Confessions of a French Baker: Breadmaking Secrets, Tips, and Recipes, Knopf (New York, NY), 2005.
• Provence A-Z, Knopf (New York, NY), 2006.
• The Vintage Caper, Knopf (New York, NY), 2009
• The Marseille Caper, Knopf (New York, NY) 2012
• The Corsican Caper, Knopf (New York, NY), 2014
• The Diamond Caper, Knopf (New York, NY), 2015
• Provence in Ten Easy Lessons, Random House, 2014 – adapted from Provence A–Z: A Francophile's Essential Handbook

Contributions

• (Author of introduction, with Ridley Scott) A Good Year: Portrait of the Film Based on the Novel by Peter Mayle, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 2007.
• (with Gray Jolliffe), screenplay Wicked Willie
• Contributor of articles to periodicals, including
  • The Sunday Times
  • Financial Times
  • Independent
  • Esquire
• contributor to Adventures in Wine, edited by Thom Elkjer, Travelers' Tales (San Francisco, CA), 2002.
• column, "Expensive Habits", Gentleman's Quarterly
• MEDIA ADAPTATIONS
  • A Year in Provence was adapted for audiocassette, Books on Tape, 1992, and for television by British Broadcasting Corporation
  • French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew was adapted for audiocassette
  • A Good Year was adapted to film
  • What's Happening to Me? adapted as animated video
  • Where Did I Come From? adapted as animated video

References and notes

External links

• Peter Mayle.com (unofficial)
• A Year in Provence on IMDb
• A Good Year on IMDb
• Peter Mayle on IMDb
• Peter Mayle at Library of Congress Authorities, with 52 catalogue records