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  • Under the Tuscan Sun

  • Written by: Frances Mayes
  • Narrated by: Frances Mayes
  • Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

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Under the Tuscan Sun cover art

Under the Tuscan Sun

Written by: Frances Mayes
Narrated by: Frances Mayes
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Publisher's Summary

Number-one New York Times best seller

The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane - now in a 20th-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’ Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special! 

More than 20 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’ signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the 20th-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.

What the critics say

"An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'...appealing and very vivid." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Irresistible...a sensuous book for a sensuous countryside." (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

What listeners say about Under the Tuscan Sun

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    4 out of 5 stars

buy the movie instead

the narrators voice and accent are very hard to listen to. I was so dissapointed as I loved the movie so much and thought the book would be even better. I will buy the paper version.

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better than the movie

for some reason, thos os 0ne of Francis Mayes' books I had not read, although I did see the movie. I often wondered if the movie was a true version because it did not fit with the image of the author that I found in reading her other books. I do think I enjoyed Under the Tuscan Sun more because I have actually been to Italy 4 times since seeing the movie and reading her other books. it's not a dream but a very real place and this book does it all the justice it deserves.

I love the subtle humour in this audio book and the very vivid and poetic descriptions which please my visual mind.

At first, I had difficulty with France's southern American accent in her narration, partly because I hadn't really imagined it before and also because it is just so , Southern USA. Having only known her work through my own reading it was my Canadian accent that felt right. Silly I know, but audio books remove our own voice and force us to shift our perception . By the end of the book, however, I felt I knew her and the accent became as endearing.

I am so glad the book was not the movie! I enjoyed the movie, but that was more fantasy. The actual book is an education and immersion in Italian life through the eyes of someone who has invested time exploring which is much more satisfying.

++I had to come back to this review to add 2 things that really saddened and alarmed me about this book. In one chapter the author refers to a child playing as a "retarded" boy running around. I realize that that term is very American. to call people retarded and use that also as an insult., and to label humans with any intellectual differences. But why note that...what you are saying is that you see his intellectual challenges not his humanity. Why not just see him as a child running around playing among the people??? He is just that...a beautiful child .

In another part a visiting American Gospel choir was labeled as black and it was noted they were the only black faces to be seen...really? I found there were many people in Italy from all over the globe , Africans, Romany etc. Why not just notectheyvwere a wonderful choir?

I just feel this is an alert to anyone buying the book ..I already purchased it and might not have given how I feel about bigotry. so, I sm torn about how I feel about this book.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Sounds like a dull textbook....

I'd rather watch paint dry. You win the prize if you can tally the number of times the word "we" is repeated in the text! That and the monotone narrator is as exciting as counting sheep. night night.

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So different (and better) than the movie!

I was shocked to discover that the book is more a memoir of the time Frances Mayes spends in Italy and the glorious food she enjoys while there - this is something I actually want to enjoy with my young family. The movie is good too, but only faintly resembles the book, and is not something I’m ready to let my kiddo watch yet! Yes, Ms. Mayes’ accent is not a typical “Hollywood” accent, but just move past that so you can enjoy her stories of building a home and garden in Italy - it’s the second-best thing to actually being there!

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