Under the Tuscan Sun

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword

“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

For more Frances Mayes, including a tour of her now iconic Cortona home, Bramasole, watch PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special!

More than twenty years ago, Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys—whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savoring one of the book’s dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes’s signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun revisits the book’s most popular characters.©1998 Frances Mayes; (P)1998 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell, A Division of Random House Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

A New York Times Notable Book

"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

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

“An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls ‘the voluptuousness of Italian life’ . . . appealing and very vivid . . . [The] book seems like the kind of thing you’d tuck into a picnic basket on an August day . . . or better yet, keep handy on the bedside table in the depths of January.”
—New York Times Book Review

"Armchair travel at its most enticing."
—Booklist

“Mayes [has] perfect vision. . . . I do not doubt that centuries form now, whoever lives in Bramasole will one day uncover bits of pottery used at Mayes’ table. She has, by the sweat of her brow and the strength of her vision, become a layer in the history of this place.”
—Los Angeles Times

"After buying a rundown villa in rural Tuscany, the American author Frances Mayes moves to Cortona to renovate the property and learn more about the Italian dolce vita. Her bestselling memoir on her time there paints a vivid description of the town, the people and the lush surrounding countryside of rolling hills and vineyards. A poet and a gourmet cook, Mayes includes a number of chapters on food, replete with classic Italian recipes to further whet the appetite."
—Irish Times

Italy from an Ex-Pat's view

UtTS is not a typical novel, but provides such detailed descriptions of Italy, you feel as if you're there. There is no plot, no "point" or climax. Simply a story about a woman's connection to the land, her new home and her experience of the culture of Italy. The author's voice is wonderful to listen to, and so the experience is almost surreal as you listen. Great "Listen" but some friends in my bookclub never finished it in the book format! (ie. not a great "read"?!) I loved listening on an evening walk around the neighborhood. Great escape from day to day life for 20 minutes at a time!

Love the book - not the reader

Sadly the reader just didn’t work for me. There isn’t much else I can say about it - bought the book and read it. Good book!

Amazing book with poor reader

The great story has been slaughtered by an American reader with a horrible southern accent without any Italian language skills. Hurts the ears.

Needs new narrator!

I love this story but couldn’t stand the narrator. Her voice is monotonous and irritating. I couldn’t even finish listening to it. Please re-release with a different narrator!

Her Voice

Would you try another book from Frances Mayes and/or Frances Mayes?

I would as the story itself is lovely.

Any additional comments?

The narrators voice is like nails down a chalk board. I love this book but I simple cannot listen to her.