Novel set in CORNWALL
A novel of family set in PROVENCE
23rd April 2025
One Summer in Provence by Carol Drinkwater, a novel of family set in PROVENCE.
Meet Celia and Dominic, an older creative couple living on a large estate – Les Roches du Soleil – with vineyards (not olives, this time), just a 25 minute drive from Cannes. Celia is an older actress who made a name for herself in London but has left her acting career behind. The two are well settled in their lovely home on the Côte d’Azur, surrounded by all kinds of fruit-bearing trees and lush verbiage, but in the late Summer heat, the terrain is as dry as anything due to lack of rain. The fear of fire is all-consuming and every precaution has to be taken to avert conflagrations.
Celia is heavily invested in a Summer party she is arranging for family, friends and business associates. She is the châtelaine, ‘the mistress of festivities’, whilst Dominic is lodged in his study beavering away on a project, whilst she sources gorgeous lemon trees, decorative lights, food and wine. She has also organised a pair of extra hands for the tail-end of the Summer season, to wit muscular young men Tom and Sean. The former composes music and is hopeful that couple’s beady eye on his work might give him the break he so desperately wants; meanwhile, the boys both get stuck in to labouring on the land.
A blast from the past – David Hawksmith – gets in touch with Celia, and in an act of spontaneity Celia invites him to the party, although she has no notion of his current situation, personality or views on life. He brings an unexpected companion with him, which more than ruffles feathers. He is, however, welcomed with open arms.
This is a story of family, of secrets and of life on the land. A post-party storm devastates parts of the farm and causes harm to a couple of people, underlining that even a perceived idyllic existence has its desperate dramas.
If you follow the author on Social Media you will be struck by the snippets of autobiographical detail in this novel, from her personal life on the Riviera to references of her former glamorous days as an actor (she was a popular character in All Creatures Great and Small, featured in many other series and worked with many well known people in showbiz). Celia is of a similar age to the author and it is touching when Celia wistfully reminisces about her acting career, which is a distant memory.
Further details of her current life have been portrayed in TV programmes, such a “A Year in Provence with Carol Drinkwater“, where her daily routines, interactions and exploration of locale are wonderfully brought together. The person viewers ‘meet’ in the show is delightfully reflected back in Celia’s character, someone with resolve and a can-do attitude, a love of life with a touch of vulnerability. I would also particularly like to reference Richard E Grant, a friend of the author, who starred in “Write Around The World“, a series where the actor travels through Italy, Spain and France (France, of course, is where he meets up with the author). Over three episodes, he explores locations and cultures which inspired the works of various authors, which of course is perfect for TripFiction aficionados.
The South of France delightfully comes to life in the hands of this talented author and this is a good and engaging romp around the Côte d’Azur.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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Join team TripFiction on Social Media:
Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction) and BlueSky(tripfiction.bsky.social) and Threads (@tripfiction)
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