In Tuscany

IN TUSCANY
By Frances Mayes with Edward Mayes
Photographs by Bob Krist

'Tuscany may have found its own bard in Frances Mayes' - New York Times

From Frances Mayes, the bestselling author who captured the voluptuousness of Italian life in sensuous and evocative prose in Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, comes a lavishly illustrated celebration of Tuscany's food, people, landscapes and art, as well as the abundant pleasures of Italian life as it is lived at home, at festivals, feasts, restaurants and markets, in the kitchen, on the piazza and in the gardens, fields, vineyards and olive groves.

"When I'm back in California, my life is radically different from that of these anciently landed people. I begin to think of Tuscany as "fairy lands forlorn", an Atlantis, a kingdom in a dream. Continually discovering the Tuscan people, how differently they live in this astonishing place - that's the life-changing adventure." (extract from In Tuscany)

More than 250 full colour and black and white photographs, taken by award-winning photographer Bob Krist at Mayes' direction, are interspersed with a lyrical text to draw a rich and distinctive portrait of Italian cuisine, people, landscapes and traditions. Also included are 25 delicious authentic Tuscan recipes, to bring the real flavour of Italy to your kitchen.

The illustrations and photographs, along with Frances Mayes' descriptive prose and 25 Tuscan recipes by friends, create in the reader a sense of belonging to this magical place. Anyone daydreaming through the pages of this volume will empathize with Mayes as she writes, "What is at work on all of us, both strangers and Tuscans born to the taste of pasta? I continue to be amazed that I feel both so at home and, simultaneously, that I've just arrived."

Flip through the photographs and admire the glimpses of conversation and frozen moments of celebration. Read Frances Maye's revelations about the Tuscan open ways of friendship and the pleasures of travel to little known places. Bring this treasure of a book into the kitchen and add a true taste of Tuscany into your own home. Lose yourself in the landscapes, the shadows of medieval towns, or the infinite beauty of a field ripe with sunflowers.

Like her other works, this book by Frances Mayes is guaranteed to wet the appetite and send readers searching for more about this land that is impossible not to love.

About the Authors

Frances Mayes is the author of the New York Times bestsellers "Under The Tuscan Sun" and "Bella Tuscany" as well as five books of poetry. She lives in San Francisco and Cortona, Italy.

Edward Mayes is the author of "Works and Days" and five other books of poetry. He is director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Clara University.

Bob Krist is the author of "Spirit of the Place: The Art of the Traveling Photographer". His international photography has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Islands and many other publications. A contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler and Popular Photography, he lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania.