The Olive Season: Amour, a New Life and Olives Too

by Carol Drinkwater (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2003

  $29.50

  Carol Drinkwater's bestselling book, THE OLIVE FARM, told the lyrical tale of her real-life romance with partner Michel and an abandoned Provencal olive farm which they fell in love with and bought - a double love story, recounting with wit, warmth and alluring detail the couple's attempts to bring their dreams to life. THE OLIVE SEASON begins with their realisation of another dream, a tropical island wedding. Returning to France, they find ever-reliable Arab gardener Quashia is leaving to marry off his youngest son. It is a bad blow. To gain the coveted AOC rating, Carol needs to plant a further 250 olive trees. Now, pregnant and often unassisted, she will have to do the bulk of the farm work. She struggles to find a water diviner to check for sources on the property. Then there is the matter of locating an elusive beekeeper who she hopes will place hives on the land in exchange for honey. Now, as the harvest season approaches, dramatic tensions cast dark shadows over the olive farm. With the magnificent humanity and texture of an Impressionist painting, The Olive Season entices readers into Carol and Michel's vibrant Mediterranean world.

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $3.25

  I scan the terraces, planted with row upon row of ancient olive trees. It is April, late spring. Here in the hills behind the Cote d'Azur the olive groves are delicately blossomed, with their tiny, white-forked flowers. Beyond them, perched halfway up the slope of the hill, our belle epoque villa comes into view. Abounding in balustrade terraces, nestling among cedars and palms, facing out at a south-westerly angle, overlooking the bay of Cannes towards the sun-kissed Mediterranean, there it is, Appassionata, awaiting us... THE OLIVE FARM told how Carol Drinkwater and partner Michel fell in love with and bought an abandoned Provencal olive farm. Now, in THE OLIVE SEASON, Carol is pregnant and their ever-loyal gardener is leaving to oversee the marriage of his son. Often unassisted, and with new challenges to face, Carol takes on the bulk of the farm work alone. Water is, as ever, a costly problem, and she goes in search of a diviner who promises almost magical results. But, as the harvest season approaches, dramatic events cast dark shadows of their olive farm.